Boston Celtics star point guard Kyrie Irving revealed to Jackie MacMullan of ESPN that being a leader of a team is a lot harder than he thought it would be.
Irving called LeBron James earlier in the season to apologize for how he acted during the their time together with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kyrie realized that the job James had to do as the best player and leader of the squad is something not everyone can handle, and he learned that firsthand this season with the Celtics.
Kyrie Irving had never had to worry about playing time. He submitted the most complete season of his career, averaging 23.8 points, a career-high 6.9 assists and solid defensive metrics that should have left him ecstatic.
Yet, he confided to ESPN that being a leader was more complicated than he ever imagined. Early in the season, he adopted a passive-aggressive stance with the younger teammates, strikingly similar to the LeBron James tactics that infuriated Irving in Cleveland.
The Celtics had a very rocky regular season after everyone picked them to coast to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. It took time for Irving and Gordon Hayward to develop chemistry with the team since they both missed the 2018 postseason run.
Boston is the fourth seed in the East. They are tied with the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the playoffs at 1-1. Despite losing Game 2 in blowout fashion, it appears whatever problems the Celtics were dealing with during the regular season is behind them.
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