Amid the Boston Celtics’ up-and-down season, Kyrie Irving has been dealing with struggles on his own.
Not with his play, but with his role as the clear-cut leader of a talented team that’s surrounded by high expectations.
Irving was surprisingly candid following the Celtics’ win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, admitting he’s still figuring out the best way to get the best out of the group. In fact, the star point guard even reached out to LeBron James for leadership advice.
Speaking with the media prior to Friday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden, head coach Brad Stevens offered his two cents on Irving’s leadership tactics.
Brad Stevens on Kyrie’s leadership comments: “If you have good intentions, which without question he does … he wants to win, he’s dying to win, he wants to be as good as he can be … then those are things that are great challenges. I think that’s all part of the path."
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) January 18, 2019
More Brad on Kyrie: “Leadership starts with what you do on the court — he was pretty damn good on Wednesday night — and then it’s how you serve your teammates and then everything else is what it is. Everything else follows suits from those two things."
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) January 18, 2019
The Celtics usually don’t have to worry about Irving on the court, which is comforting for a team that’s struggled mightily with inconsistency this season. So as Irving continues to his build on his intangibles, the rest of Boston’s roster only should benefit.
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