Danny Ainge must be wondering what he has to do to build a winner.
Apparently, the answer isn’t to sign Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
Never before have we seen such a disconnect and misery on a team 12 games above .500.
A lot of that seems to start with Irving, and things have deteriorated even further in that department over the past month, according to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
“These days, Irving plays lackadaisical defence, and unfocused offense,” O’Connor wrote. “Sources around the team told me that Irving’s persona has changed, too: He’s become disengaged and detached from those around the team. There is talk that Irving’s friendships on the team start and end with Tatum, with whom he shares an agent.
“Two sources peg Irving’s change in demeanour to early February, around the time he was asked about the possibility of joining the New York Knicks next season. That’s when Irving infamously said he’d make the best decision for his family and that he didn’t “owe anybody ****.”
The Celtics have looked noticeable worse when Irving is in uniform and the basic numbers back that up.
Boston has won their past six Irving-less games, while going 1-7 over their past eight games with Kyrie in uniform.
Combine that with the constant rumours that he’s leaving for New York the first chance he gets, and the alarm bells have never been ringing louder at Celtics HQ.
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