The Boston Celtics are no strangers to Big Threes. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish were legendary, while Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen won the championship in their very first season.
Kyrie Irving is now part of another triumvirate along with Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. But as Celtics beat writers Scott Souza and Jay King have noted, the new Celtics point guard is somewhat tempering expectations on himself and his new teammates, cautioning that it might take some time for them to get on the same page.
#Celtics Kyrie Irving acknowledged new C's Big 3 "practically strangers" – preached patience as new teammates learn each other.
— Scott Souza (@Scott_Souza) September 21, 2017
Kyrie Irving: "We’re very big fans of each other’s games, but in terms of how we’ll collectively mesh as a group, that’s a ways away."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) September 21, 2017
Irving obviously has firsthand experience of how being part of a team with multiple stars isn’t always smooth sailing from the start. He went through a lot of growing pains in his first season with the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside LeBron James and Kevin Love. There’s an adjustment period involved in order to find out how all the pieces fit, and the Celtics could find that out this season.
It will be interesting how Irving and Hayward learn to co-exist. Although Kyrie Irving has plans of being a “complete point guard,” he will still likely have the lion’s share of the ball, leaving Hayward to play more off the ball. But as someone who also has ambitions of being a truly elite player, Hayward will still want his share of touches.
The Irving-Horford relationship could be a much smoother one, though. Horford doesn’t really need as much touches compared to his two other All-Star teammates, and should be a fine pick-and-roll partner for Irving due to his IQ, shooting touch, and his willingness to pass.
While the Celtics have the talent to form another Big Three, there will inevitably be things they still need to sort out. It's now up to head coach Brad Stevens to make those fine pieces he has at his disposal work together as quickly as possible.
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