{"id":13356,"date":"2018-03-04T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-04T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnba.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=13356"},"modified":"2018-03-03T23:31:36","modified_gmt":"2018-03-04T04:31:36","slug":"kyrie-irving-second-best-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2018\/03\/04\/kyrie-irving-second-best-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyrie Irving is the Eastern Conference’s Second-Best Player"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boston Celtics<\/a> point guard Kyrie Irving<\/a><\/strong> has taken his play to a different level since the All-Star break in February. The superstar guard has officially established himself as the second-best player in the Eastern Conference, behind only his former teammate, Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> forward LeBron James<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Kyrie Irving is the East’s Second-Best Player<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Irving has totally outdone himself this season, posting astronomical numbers, and even better numbers since the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

According to ESPN’s Chris Forsberg<\/strong>, in the four games prior to Saturday night’s loss to the Houston Rockets<\/a>, Irving averaged 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists per game. He shot 53.8 percent from the field and 52.3 percent from three-point land in that span. Irving has achieved these eye-popping numbers in only 28.5 minutes per game.<\/p>\n

This season, Irving has proven that he is, in fact, the second best player in the Eastern Conference. He’s been able to lead the Celtics to a 44-20 record thus far. People could make the case for Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0or John Wall<\/a><\/strong>. But\u00a0the numbers do not lie.<\/p>\n

According to basketball-reference, Irving is the youngest player in NBA history to join the 30-30-60 club: a 30 percent assist rate, 30 percent usage rate, and 60 percent true shooting percentage. Irving joins players such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry<\/a><\/strong>, Isaiah Thomas<\/a><\/strong>, James Harden<\/a><\/strong>, and Michael Jordan<\/a><\/strong> in that club.<\/p>\n

Irving has dealt with plenty of adversity in his first season in Boston. The Celtics lost their marquee free agency signing, Gordon Hayward<\/a><\/strong>, with a major injury<\/a> just minutes into the season<\/a>. Irving has been forced to rely on rookie Jayson Tatum<\/a><\/strong>, second-year player Jaylen Brown<\/a><\/strong>, and defensive-minded (but offensively challenged) guard Marcus Smart<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Irving and the Celtics have beaten the Cavs, the Rockets, and even the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, it seems almost like a guarantee that Harden will win the MVP award this season. However, this should not deter from the fact that Kyrie Irving has had an MVP-caliber season.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>