Boston Celtics: 3 reasons this is still a team to fear in the playoffs

1. Kyrie Irving

Remember Game 7 of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals? For as impressive of a run as the Celtics had up until that point, they struggled mightily with a berth in the NBA Finals on the line, converting on just seven of their 39 3-point attempts to go along with shooting just 34.1 percent overall.

They were a team that played almost without a conscience throughout that playoff run, content to move the ball around independent of who wound up shooting it, but when those same shots failed to drop and the play broke down, nobody on the roster was capable enough to make something out of nothing.

For as criticized as Kyrie Irving is for what he doesn’t do both on the court and as a leader, the six-time All-Star is still one of the best isolation scorers in the NBA with GOAT-level handles and a closer’s mentality taken straight from the mind of Kobe Bryant.

Yes, it can be fun to watch a more team-oriented style of basketball that doesn’t revolve around a singular talent, but every team looking to win a championship has to rely on a guy it can give the ball to, close its eyes and know everything is going to be all right.

Irving is an elite scorer from anywhere on the court who’s done exactly that on the game’s grandest stage a number of times. He invokes panic with the ball in his hands and the game on the line.

If there’s any reason to fear the Celtics in the 2019 NBA Playoffs that has the ability to improve on last year’s outcome, it’s No. 11’s talent in going toe-to-toe with some of the game’s best and providing exactly what Boston was missing in its disheartening loss last May.