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Boston Celtics: 3 regular season goals for Kyrie Irving in 2018-19

By Ryan Feyre

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics defend each other during the second half at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics defend each other during the second half at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

1. Become a consistent defender

Celtics fans are already familiar with what Irving can do offensively. He averaged 24 points per game on 50 percent shooting in 2017-18, according to NBA stats.  His leadership and flashy finishes at the rim are impeccable, and integral to Coach Brad Stevens’ playbook.

However, Irving’s defense looked inconsistent at times. From October to December of 2017, the former Cavalier became progressively worse on that end of the floor.

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According to Liam O’Brien of Hardwood Houdini, Irving went from a 97 defensive rating in October of 2017, to a 104 in November, and finally an abysmal 115 in December. At one point, he placed 350th in the NBA for defensive rating during a certain stretch of those December games. Overall, his rating was better than 2016-2017 (109.1 in 2016-17, 103.5 in 2017-18), but there’s still room for improvement.

As far as overall defense goes, Irving placed behind Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Marcus Smart for the entire NBA. All guys that aren’t as talented as he is. Irving still finished 29th in overall defense for the entire league in 2017 which isn’t bad, but having the rest of the guys above him only shows how unimportant he can be on the defensive end.

In fact, Irving once had a defensive rating that was as bad as Isaiah Thomas’s when Irving was still in Cleveland (112). Thomas always gets negativity thrown at him, something Irving never seems to absorb from the media.

Having Hayward back should take some of the offensive load off of Irving, which could lead to a better defensive effort. Tatum becoming a blossoming superstar should help him as well.

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