Are Teams Better Without Kyrie?
Kyrie Irving is one of the best basketball players in the world. Being the rookie of the year in 2012, to a six-time all-star, and let’s not forget an NBA Champion, he has captured the hearts of many diehard and casual NBA fans throughout his whole career with his insane handles and unreal clutch.
However, these past three years in Boston and Brooklyn have kind of been a roller coaster in terms of the way he has performed on the court and with chemistry issues. This has led to a lot of drama being dealt around Kyrie on whether or not he is a team player and if he can lead a team to the NBA Finals. People have even gone on to say that teams that Irving plays for have been seen as notably worse when he is on the court than when he is off of it.
Looking at year one with the Celtics, we can see why some people have believed this. After March 11, 2018, Kyrie Irving did not play a single game for the Boston Celtics for the remainder of the season. The Celtics ended the year with a 55–27 record and second in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics then proceded to beat the Bucks in the first round in a seven-game series. They then destroyed the Sixers in a 4–1 series win in the second round. Finally, they went to seven games against the best player in the world (LeBron James), nearly making it to the NBA Finals. They did this all without their best player.
We move back to last season where we can see the Celtics finish with a disappointing 49–33 record where Kyrie Irving was healthy throughout the whole season. The Celtics would sweep the Pacers in the first round, but get destroyed by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round in 4–1 series loss. At this point, many NBA experts and even fans had started to question Irving’s impact on the Celtics with some even calling it negative.
Moving along we see the locker room and on-court issues with teammates in Boston eventually leading him to sign with the Brooklyn Nets which is where we are today.
Irving played with the Nets until November 14, 2019, where he suffered a shoulder injury. The team was sitting at a disappointing 4–7 record at the time. Once he went to rehab, the Nets have suddenly picked it up and are sitting at a 16–13 record a month later. This cannot be considered a fluke, as it has happened too many times already in Irving’s career. Moreover, Irving’s situation resembles a lot like the Patrick Ewing Theory.
In short, what this theory states is that there are certain teams that perform better when their star player is off the court or injured. Kyrie Irving has met the criteria to fall under the Patrick Ewing Theory with his long-term absence leading to his teams’ success.
This isn’t a knock on Kyrie’s game though. He still balls out every night which should obviously be taken into account when we judge him as a player. He is still going to be an All-Star no matter what team he plays on. The man did also make one of the greatest shots in NBA history but when we look at his teams’ success, that is a whole different story. Irving is a very confusing person whether regarding his flat earth beliefs or other superstitions. But one thing is for sure, he is a top-level NBA player and a future Hall of Famer.
