Boston Celtics 2017 player preview and predictions: Kyrie Irving

The newest member of the Boston Celtics, Kyrie Irving, has finally been traded out of Cleveland. Now it is time to predict what he can do as a member of the storied franchise

Now that I am done celebrating Uncle Drew making it to Mass, I should probably get back to business. As arguably one of the best scorers in the league, Kyrie Irving brings a solid shooting percentage and a high volume of shots to the Boston Celtics.

On top of that, he will definitely be looking to get the rock more. He wants to be the focal point, and while he won’t be the only superstar on the team, he will easily be the best guard on the team, making his future a lot brighter in Boston.

Roll the tape!

And here we are, nearing the start of the 2017-18 season. The NBA has already been shaken up multiple times, and I don’t think it’s over yet. Boston has done a lot this offseason after going through a very quiet one last year. This year, Boston has made the moves necessary to compete in the NBA’s highest tier of teams.

But now there is another story line that has developed; Kyrie has a fresh start, and he now gets to play against Lebron for the first time since 2014. This will probably heat up the rivalry between the Cavaliers and the Celtics.

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Last year, Kyrie had a fantastic season. In 72 games played, he averaged 25.2 points per game, 5.8 assists per game, and 3.2 rebounds per game. He shot 47.3 percent from the field on almost 20 shots per game. Those stats are overall the best of his career. He didn’t take too many shots, he also made a great percentage of them. Kyrie averaged enough points to compliment Lebron nicely in Cleveland. His assists per game were right where they should’ve been considering he was playing next to the King.

The preview

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Yes, Kyrie’s stats last season were the overall best of his career to this point. Now that Irving’s situation has dramatically changed, he will probably need to average more assists, and he won’t need to put up more than 25 points for this offense to be successful.

You might notice that I had said the same thing about Isaiah Thomas before the trade. This is because they are both similar players. Now that Kyrie and IT have essentially switched places (sort of like a Prince and the Pauper type setup), Kyrie needs to average more assists. He should try to hit around 7 assists.

One big difference in what to expect on offense this year is more isolations. Kyrie Irving is arguably the best ball handler in the league. You can expect Brad Stevens to let him create his own offense often. Isaiah isn’t as good of a ball handler, and now he has Lebron, so he will be looking for more catch and shoot jumpers.

As far as his stat line goes, I could see Uncle Drew averaging about 26 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds per game. He will shoot about 47 percent from the field, and roughly 40 percent from beyond the arc. His free throw percentage will probably be in the low 90’s.

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If Irving plays at the level I expect him to, this is going to be a great season for the Boston Celtics.