As someone with a 55-point game to his credit this season, Kyrie Irving has become accustomed to lighting up the league with LeBron James as his facilitator.
But even before the legend returned to Cleveland, Irving had a good feel for the Celtics. In 11 career games against the C’s, the Cavaliers point guard has averaged 22.7 points on 49.5 percent shooting, including a rich 43.5 percent from 3-point range.
The Celtics, who are expected to guard James with a deep rotating cast, have to give Irving the same treatment.
“We’ll have a number of guys guard him,” coach Brad Stevens said yesterday.