Boston Celtics: Could Kyrie Irving win MVP?
At about the halfway mark of the season, Kyrie Irving is having a great season thus far. But is it enough to be in contention for the MVP award?
There are certainly many players you could make a case for winning the MVP award. The frontrunners as of now include James Harden, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Then of course, there are players who are possibilities, but are still long shots. Those include the likes of Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Russell Westbrook.
There is so much talent in the NBA right now, and you could make the case for several players. Irving had his best season last year with the Cleveland Cavaliers. With his new team, the Boston Celtics, Irving is having another big season, if not an even better one. Here is a look at the case for and against him winning the award.
Case for
Irving has certainly improved since last season. His points and assists per game have decreased by a slim margin, but his level of play hasn’t. I don’t think anyone is going to complain about him scoring 24.2 points per game. Plus, there’s no need to score more when you’re winning, and when you have plenty other players who will do their part.
Irving’s case for MVP starts with his improvement on the other end of the floor. His steals per game is practically the same as all the other years (1.3), but it’s his defense that has improved greatly. For so long he was always labeled a poor defender, but it appears he may be ready to shed that label. Just see for yourself.
Irving currently holds an impressive 102.0 defensive rating. Just last year he posted an ugly 109.1 defensive rating. He has shown a will to fix his defense and it has greatly impacted his team.
While his defense has improved, he’s also been a big reason the Celtics win games. The Celtics currently hold a 32-10 record, and Irving is responsible for 6.0 of those wins. He currently ranks fourth in the NBA in win shares. Not only has his defense improved, but he has played a big part in the Celtics holding one of the best records in the NBA.
Case against
Irving’s case for not winning the award is pretty simple. While he is a major reason for the Celtics being where they are today, he just simply isn’t as valuable as Harden, James or Antetokounmpo. All three of those players are ahead of him in win shares. Harden currently leads the way with an impressive 8.0 win shares.
Let’s compare stats to four top MVP candidates right now.
- Kyrie Irving: 24.2 PPG, 48.4 FG%, 39.4 3P% 5.0 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG
- LeBron James: 27.5 PPG, 55.9 FG%, 38.3 3P%, 9.1 APG, 8.1 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 1.6 BPG
- James Harden: 32.3 PPG, 45.1 FG%, 39.0 3P%, 9.1 APG, 5.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 0.5 BPG
- Kevin Durant: 25.9 PPG, 50.1 FG%, 39.0 3P%, 5.3 APG, 7.1 RPG, 0.8 SPG, 2.3 BPG
- Giannis Antetokounmpo: 28.9 PPG, 55.1 FG%, 26.7 3P%, 4.7 APG, 10.1 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.3 BPG
Looking at these stats, you can see that all of these players are more deserving of the MVP award over Irving. No fault to Kyrie, but these four other players are having crazy good seasons. He just doesn’t fill out the stat sheet like these other players. He’s recording just under five assists per game. All of these players have more assists than him, except Antetokounmpo, and they aren’t even point guards.
His rebounds as well are lower than everyone else’s, but again, he’s a point guard and quite shorter than everyone. So, it’s not hard to see why they are grabbing more boards per game. Each one of these players are better defenders (besides Harden), but that’s just one more category in which they are more deserving.
Outlook
Irving is having another great season, and he has shown improvements on the defensive end. While I’m not trying to take anything away from his season, he’s just not as deserving of the hardware just yet. Maybe one day he will be an MVP winner, but it won’t be this season. Those other four players are having off-the-charts seasons.
Next: 2017-18 Week 12 NBA Power Rankings
The odds are slim for Irving to win the MVP award. Unless he miraculously plays basketball like no other, then he might have a chance. But, for now this is Harden’s, James’, Antetokounmpo’s, and Durant’s award to lose.