Kyrie Irving Says Celtics Players Ending 'Selfish Style' Helped Improve Form

The Boston Celtics were tipped as one of the favorites to progress to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference before the 2018-19 season got underway and it was mainly because of their strength in depth.

Brad Stevens has a pretty impressive roster at his disposal packed with a lot of potential. The Celtics have two All-Stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward and potentially future All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The Boston franchise were expected to be the stars of the East, but all has not gone according to plan after the first 20 games of the season. The Celtics have proven to be inconsistent and lost 10 of their first 20 games.

Owing to their deep roster it was going to take some time for all the players to get on the same page, especially since they played major chunks of last season without their top two star Irving and Hayward, who were injured.

The Celtics fortunes have turned around in the last week having gone unbeaten in their last three games against the New Orleans Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Coach Stevens’ team have had a four day breather before they get their campaign underway again against the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

Irving, who has been leading the charge for the Celtics again this season, has explained why they are suddenly finding their form. He believes the players have changed their mindset in recent weeks after playing selfishly at the start of the season.

“I think just guys being in their specific roles,” Irving said Wednesday, as quoted on NESN. “Brad (Stevens) being more definitive in what he wants and us responding the right way and not necessarily doing it selfishly. Coach says something, he wants something done, he thinks this is best for the team — instead of responding selfishly and thinking about yourself, you think about what’s best for the team.”

“I think over the last few games we’ve just been having a lot more fun doing so, and playing the right way. Playing at a high level, it should be fun. It should be fun getting up and down, getting stops, cheering for your teammates.

“Basketball should be fun. I think initially when we first started, everyone was in their own heads and emotionally you can be all over the place. You bring that emotion to your teammates and it’s just not a good recipe,” the five-time NBA All-Star added.

The Celtics will be keen to continue their momentum against the Knicks on Thursday as they will be keen to make up ground on the teams ahead of them on the Eastern Conference table. The Toronto Raptors led by Kawhi Leonard are currently top of the East having won 21 of their 26 games thus far.

​​