The Boston Celtics have been led by two former Duke Basketball stars, Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum, and are looking to make a push up the Eastern Conference standings.
As January comes to a close, it has been a rather disappointing season for the Boston Celtics, coming off of a Game Seven appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals last season without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
However, Irving and Jayson Tatum are trying to right the ship for Boston as the Celtics currently sit with a 29-18 record, which places them as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, six games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 1 seed.
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Kyrie Irving is coming off of a game last week where he set a new single game career high in assists with 18 assists against the Toronto Raptors, to end Boston’s three game losing streak and jumpstart a four game winning streak.
Throughout the four game winning streak, Irving was the Celtics leading scorer in all four games, with 27 points against Toronto, 38 points against the Memphis Grizzlies, 32 points against the Atlanta Hawks, and 26 points against the Miami Heat.
Irving also led the Celtics in assists in those four games starting with the 18 against Toronto, followed by 11 assists against Memphis, five in Atlanta, and 10 against Miami.
On the season, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft is averaging 23.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.9 assists, while shooting a career high 50.1% from the field and 41.3% from 3-point range. Irving’s 3-point percentage is currently the second best of his career as he shot 41.5% from 3-point range in the 2014-15 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kyrie Irving will not play on Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to flu-like symptoms, but the team hopes to have him back on Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors.
#NEBHInjuryReport Kyrie Irving (flu-like symptoms) is OUT tonight vs Cleveland.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 23, 2019
While Irving has taken the lead in Boston’s four game winning streak, Jayson Tatum has been right there, continuing to be an excellent second option for the Celtics.
Tatum was a no show for Boston’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies as he only scored two points, an missed all six of his shots from the field. Tatum still was able to contribute with six rebounds, four assists, and a block.
In the other three games of the Celtics winning streak, Tatum put up 16 points and 10 rebounds against Toronto; 19 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three blocks against Atlanta; followed by another 19 point performance against the Miami Heat to go along with six rebounds and an assist.
Jayson Tatum is Boston’s second leading score on the season, averaging 16.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game and shooting 45.0% from the field.
As the Boston Celtics try to keep its winning streak alive and continue to try to improve its playoff standing, look for Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum to be leading the way for Boston.