Are Celtics Better Without Kyrie? Danny Ainge Says That's 'Completely Illogical'
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics have won two straight and 12 of their last 15 as they hit the All-Star break, but the talk isn't about their play as of late.
It's about who isn't playing, and whether or not the Celtics are actually better without that player. It's all kind of silly, considering that player in question is Kyrie Irving.
Irving is having a career season for the Celtics on the floor, but with back-to-back wins over the 76ers and Pistons, the team improved to 10-2 this season without their All-Star point guard. Add in the success they had during last postseason, and some are questioning if the team is actually better without Irving.
Celtics president of basketball ops. Danny Ainge says all those folks are being ridiculous.
"It's completely illogical and makes no sense," Ainge said of the Irving nonsense during his Thursday morning interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich. "It wasn't but a month ago we were trying to figure out how we were going to score without Kyrie on the court."
So why are the Celtics so good without Kyrie? Ainge said other players are stepping up when he isn't on the floor.
"We're getting a lot of good play out of a lot of good guys. [Jayson] Tatum, [Gordon] Hayward, [Al] Horford, they're playing great basketball. Jaylen Brown has stepped up his game over the last couple of months and bought into his role off the bench. I feel like, we just need to all play well," he said. "But Kryie is by far our most efficient offensive player, no question. Our team, when Kyrie is on the court, is far more efficient than when he is not. It's ridiculous to think [we're better without him]."
The Celtics own a net rating of plus-8.9 with Irving off the floor. They're a plus-1.8 when he's not on the floor.
While the stats should settle the silly argument, many will point to the "eye test." In that case, the Celtics do appear to be a much looser bunch when Irving isn't leading the way. Ainge, who had plenty experience sharing the floor with star players, isn't surprised.
"Do other players like a bigger role? Yeah. I never didn't want Larry Bird on my team, but I got very excited when Larry or Kevin [McHale] wouldn't play in a game that night, because that meant more opportunity and that was fun," he said. "But I knew to win it all, you can't be without those great players."
