Kyrie Irving on Celtics: “We’re not as good as we think we are”

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Kyrie Irving

The Boston Celtics are now 7-6 after a 100-94 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. It’s not the kind of start that many expected with Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving healthy, but so far the Celtics look extremely mortal and beatable.

Via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe:

At full strength, most people feel that the Celtics can be more than just good. They have all of the ingredients from coaching to individual talent to versatility and so forth.

Irving and Hayward are still working their way back to their full forms. Hayward seems to be a more delicate process. In about 25-30 minutes of play per game, he’s only seeing single-digit shot attempts and averaging 10 points per game along with five boards. Boston’s wing/forward depth only becomes a formidable weapon if they’re all confident and in rhythm, which means Hayward along with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Morris.

Of course, this comment from Irving sparked Twitter chatter about Carmelo Anthony because of the latest surrounding his situation in Houston. It might suggest that he feels the team is looking ahead past the regular season. That could certainly affect their competitive accountability.

Boston only held one team under 100 points so far this season. It was the Orlando Magic on Oct. 22, and they lost 93-90.

In the last week, they’ve given up 123 in a loss at Utah, 109 in an overtime win at Phoenix, and 115 in a loss at Denver.

Getting back to how good they’re supposed to be likely starts with tuning things up on the defensive end.

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