The Boston Celtics are going to be without Kyrie Irving for the rest of the regular season, and the duration of the playoffs
Not even a day after the Boston Celtics blew their last chance at the number one seed, they sent out the most devastating news for the rest of the season. Kyrie Irving was already shut down for the rest of the regular season, and now it has been reported that he is also going to miss the duration of the playoffs (Via Adrian Wojnarowski).
The Celtics were hoping to get their best player back after the first round, but now they at least have some clarity. This will effectively shut down any optimism that was created by that winning streak, because the first round was going to be tough enough without him.
The Celtics still might get Marcus Smart back, but there is no doubt that this destroys their hopes of a long playoff run, and will probably lead to an early exit.
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Everyone wanted to see what Irving could do for the Celtics in the playoffs, but this will only make next year even more exciting. The Celtics were never going to be at full health this season, and their ceiling was always going to be limited.
Irving might have made them good enough to make the Finals, but they are making sure he is going to be 100 percent when they are ready to win the Finals, which could be as quickly as next year.
Getting the news before the playoffs is quite a downer, because it takes away a lot of the hope about what happens when he returns. But that also eliminates any false hope. The Celtics are officially playing with house money throughout the playoffs, and do not have to be concerned with any standards or expectations.
The Celtics could exit in any round, and it would not change their plan or outlook for next season, when they will unleash this core together for the first time. This is the kind of news that nobody wants to hear, but it everything about the Irving injury suggests this is the safest way to go.
He has known that he will need surgery, and he has been dealing with pain for a while. This missed time seemed to be inevitable, and if the Celtics forced him back there is a good chance it would have spilled over into next season, and threatened not one, but two playoff runs.
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The Celtics always have the future in mind, and the fact that the Celtics are willing to shut Irving down already is an indication of how much they believe in the future of this team. The best part is then that Irving should be returning without the knee problems and lingering pain that might have held him back a bit this season. When you look at how good he has been, there is a lot to get excited about.