Boston Celtics: 5 goals for Kyrie Irving in 2017-18
3. Set a career-high in assists
For the past three seasons, Kyrie Irving has been playing the point guard position without the benefit of truly setting the tone offensively.
Cleveland instead enabled LeBron James to facilitate the offense, a tactic that has resulted in plenty of success. James ranked third in the league in total possessions, acquiring the ball 88.1 time a game.
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As a result, James possessed the ball for over six minutes a night, resulting in 5.4 more assist opportunities than Irving each night.
James ranked sixth in the league in assists, dishing out 8.7 per game, while the 5.8 assists Irving dished out was the 21st in the league.
Part of the rapid adjustment Irving will need to make with the Celtics is once again establishing himself as a true point guard, a tactic that wasn’t a necessity playing alongside James.
Boston has capable passers in the frontcourt, as Al Horford led all centers with an assist average of 5.0 per game and Gordon Hayward totaled 3.4 assists per game, second-most on his former team in Utah.
The career-high in assists for Irving came in 2013-14, his last season without James as a teammate, when he amassed 433 assists.
The Celtics acquired Irving with the expectation of instantly becoming the franchise point guard. The high-powered offense in Boston should enable Irving to set a career-high in assists.