Irving departure not even noticed
Celtics quickly moving on without All-Star guard
WASHINGTON — The Boston Celtics don’t need to face Kyrie Irving to be certain that they are over him.
Irving, who left the Celtics for the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent this summer, will be sidelined with a shoulder injury for his new team’s first visit to TD Garden on Wednesday.
While his absence spoils the night’s revenge narrative and denies the Boston crowd a prime booing opportunity, it also reinforces the central theme of the Celtics’ season: They have not been defined by the six-time All-Star’s departure. Everything about the Celtics — from their record to their offensive balance to their response to early adversity — suggests that they have moved on from Irving’s perplexing two-year tenure with remarkable ease.
Last year’s Celtics spent the regular season in a maddening, unresolved state before crumbling in the playoffs. Irving, who has admitted to isolating himself and feeling depressed following his grandfather’s death, performed erratically, but he was only one of many contributing factors.
Gordon Hayward, an All-Star-caliber forward before a serious leg injury, was a shell of himself as he worked through his recovery. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Boston’s talented young wing duo, often looked ordinary. While Irving’s ball-dominant presence complicated their offensive roles, neither found much success going to the basket or playmaking for his teammates.
By contrast, this year’s Celtics look re-energized and comfortable in their own skin, boasting a 12-4 record and the NBA’s seventh-best point differential, 11th-best offense and fifth-best defense. They have compiled that portfolio despite the summer departures of Irving and All-Star center Al Horford, along with another early-season injury to Hayward.
To pin that turnaround entirely on Irving would be unfair, although the vacuum created by his departure has enabled many key developments.
First, it set up Boston to ink Kemba Walker as a less spectacular but steadier replacement at point guard. The threetime All-Star has averaged 21.1 points and 4.7 assists, establishing himself as a lead scoring option in his preferred pick-and-roll scenarios without sucking up all the oxygen in the room.
“The Kemba pickup was huge,” said Doc Rivers, the coach who led Boston to its most recent NBAtitle and now helms the Los Angeles Clippers.
“He’s not only a great player but a great glue guy as well. I’m not sure anybody in the league doesn’t like him. It was exactly what they needed.”
The Walker-for-Irving exchange has allowed Tatum and Brown to feel greater ownership in Boston’s future and assert themselves on offense with greater regularity. Irving’s departure also removed the burden of championship expectations that seemed to swallow last year’s Celtics.
But there have been other settling forces. Brown, 23, inked a four-year, $115 million extension before the season, and he has responded to Boston’s show of faith with career highs in scoring, rebounds, assists and player efficiency rating.
Best of all, his offensive game is making strides toward the modern wing ideal: He’s enjoying the most prolific 3-point-shooting season of his career, he’s getting to the foul line more often than ever, and he’s driving to the hoop nearly twice as often as last season.
“I wouldn’t have had the stomach to give him that money [before the season],” a rival scout said. “He’s making his bosses look good.”
The 21-year-old Tatum, who still has the highest upside of anyone on Boston’s roster, has shown similar progress when it comes to filling out his offensive game and updating his shot profile.
His scoring, rebounding, assists and player efficiency rating are all up, but this isn’t just a matter of volume. He’s attacking the basket far more often, he has cut way back on his long twopointers and he’s attempting nearly twice as many 3-pointers as he did last season.
And as his usage rate has skyrocketed, Tatum has shown some progress as a facilitator.
“Jayson is a guy we’re going to do a lot with, and he’s continued to grow his game,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “I think he can grow even more. His ability to make different reads as he continues to be put in different situations will be very important for our team, especially as he gets more and more attention.”