MILWAUKEE -- All season, Kyrie Irving talked a big game heading into the Eastern Conference Playoffs. At one point, after an ugly loss in Chicago on February 24th, he downplayed the Celtics’ regular-season struggles, noting that the team would be fine in the postseason, "Because I’m here."
That type of staggering confidence put the pressure squarely on the 6-foot-3 guard as the calendar flipped over the postseason play. Yet, it’s hard to argue with Irving’s words five games into an undefeated playoff run for Boston.
The point guard delivered one of the best games of his postseason career during the Game 1 thrashing against the Bucks on Sunday afternoon. He led the team in points (26), assists (11) and was second on the team in rebounds (seven), delivering the type of all-around play that he has focused on more this regular season. Contributions across the box score help to separate really good players from great ones in the postseason and it’s evident that Irving is dialed into a different level with the lights shining brighter.
However, the tone he sent in Game 1 on the offensive end helped to turn the NBA’s best defense in the regular season into an absolute puddle of itself in the second half. Irving carved them up for 12-of-21 shooting from the field while also dishing out a playoff career-high 11 assists. His ability to balance his own shot making and elite distribution reached a new level for the postseason as this was the first game he scored over 25 points in a game while achieving a double-double.
The formula for him was a simple one:
Establish his own shotmaking early in the game, force the Bucks' defense to adjust and watch the rest of Celtics offense open up even more for his teammates.
“I just play the game as it comes,” he explained. “When I’m out there I think I try to put too much of an emphasis on thinking too much about trying to be too much of a facilitator and it’ll take me out of my game. Tonight I just wanted to come out aggressive, establish myself in the post, establish myself around the mid-range area and after that, I knew the adjustments they were going to make were going to dictate the pace of the game. So the second and third quarter I really don’t worry about shots.
“I can get my shot any time I want. I think everybody in the building knows that. But aside from that evolution of my game has come from just being able to pace the game very well and manage it, and establish these guys throughout the game, because they’re special as well. I’m even more special when they’re making shot and they’re doing what they do. So I try to just go out there and ease into it. Some shots are going to go in some nights and some shots are not, so just coming in with that mindset and just be aggressive and that’ll open up opportunities for my teammates.”
Irving scored eight of his 26 points in the first quarter with an array of shots that left the Bucks shaking their heads. George Hill was one of the better point guard defenders in the league during his prime (he's 32 now), yet he has no answer for some of Irving’s postups. When the doubles came later, Irving simply adjusted.
S P L A S H pic.twitter.com/VPckLp5zv5
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 28, 2019
At this point, the Bucks are unhinged, but it's worth noting that this NEEDS to be switched.
It's the same staggered screen action that the Celtics used in last year's Playoffs, and the Bucks used Jabari Parker and Thon Maker to switch.
It's Kyrie now, but there's no other way. pic.twitter.com/TDE2CUKM5S
— Dean Maniatt (@AllTheBucks) April 28, 2019