In an interview with ESPN’s First Take, Kyrie Irving says he’s excited to play for the Boston Celtics, and as MassLive.com’s Jay King notes, one of his reasons is that he’s finally able to be the point guard of his own team.
“I'm ecstatic,” Irving said. “I'm just looking forward to playing my position. I'm looking forward to becoming something that I've always envisioned myself being — and that's being a complete point guard on a great team. I want to be able to come off pick-and-rolls and be able to dissect the defense, and be able to have guys that — this is not a knock on anybody that I was playing with, but my role was completely different (in Cleveland).”
When asked how he'll be different in Boston, Irving replied, “Actually playing point guard, which is very, very much exciting. Getting that thing on the break and allowing Gordon (Hayward) to have the space around him as well, and allowing Al Horford to make plays as a big, and having an offense that's not necessarily dictated just on me isolating. So I'm excited about that.”
While Irving is widely considered a “point guard,” he actually didn’t get to play the position too often in Cleveland. LeBron James has been the Cavs’ true facilitator on offense ever since he returned to the team, with Irving having to adjust and play more off the ball.
That desire to lead a team from the point was a major reason for Irving’s decision to ask for a trade from Cleveland. He feels he’s capable of having a much bigger role in terms of running the offense and setting up his teammates.
Irving got his wish now that he’s in Boston, where he’ll be tasked to be the primary playmaker ahead of Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. It’ll now be up to him to prove the misconceptions about him being an iso-heavy gunner wrong and grow into the complete point guard he says he wants to be.
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