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As the Boston Celtics gear up for another postseason run, it is clear that the excitement around this squad has all but disintegrated. What was once a promising team that had an outside shot at becoming the first Eastern conference squad in 7 years to overcome LeBron James and the Cavaliers, is now at risk of being eliminated in the first round.
The reason for such a fall from grace is due to the absence of one man, Kyrie Irving.
Coming into the season there were a lot of questions around whether Kyrie could lead a squad of his own to the same levels of success that his teams in Cleveland enjoyed. Through the majority of the season, it seemed as though Kyrie had proven his doubters wrong as the Celtics held the number 1 seed through the first half of the regular season. The Celtics began to stumble down the stretch however, and luckily for them, the drama and injuries in Cleveland kept them from falling even further down in the standings. Now with the news that their best player will miss 4-5 months after needing a second surgery on his knee, that second place finish means a lot less to the fans in Boston.
Originally the Celtics thought that Kyrie would only miss 3-6 weeks after receiving a minimally invasive procedure that would keep Kyrie’s knee operational at least until the off-season. However, after testing the white blood cell count in the fluid surrounding the joint, the doctors found that some of the screws that were placed in Irving’s knee after his injury in the NBA Finals in 2015 had become infected.
Those screws need to be removed which will leave holes in the bone. Although Irving’s knee is structurally sound, it takes time for the body to grow new bone in the area and this is why he will miss the entire postseason. The good news is that Kyrie is expected to make a full recovery once the bone heals and the infection has cleared up, however that is little solace to a Celtics franchise that had been so optimistic coming into the season.
The Celtics are still a good basketball team without Kyrie Irving, and they will be getting Marcus Smart back just in time for the playoffs, but Irving is what makes this team one of the elite squads in their conference. Without him, it has become unclear how deep into the playoffs Brad Stevens mastermind can take this ball club.