Danny Ainge was on Toucher & Rich Show for an interview that was very much rooted in his current and future dealings as the Celtics' general manager, everything else was seemingly off limits, including the "El Terrible" he earned during his playing days. And yet the conversation inevitably veered towards a touchy subject, for those who count themselves as Celtic's diehards: the notion that Boston plays better without Kyrie Irving in the lineup, as evidenced by their 9-2 record without him on the season.
But to his credit, Ainge did not throw his current point guard under the bus like he did Isaiah Thomas not so long ago, with his hosts bringing up the Celtics' current 2-game win streak as a timely argument for the team's slight restructuring without Kyrie Irving, come this NBA offseason.
"If you just look at the data over the past two years our team has been so much better," Ainge answered. "It wasn't but a month ago that we were trying to figure out how in the world are we going to score without Kyrie on the court."
Ainge emboldened his argument FOR keeping Kyrie Irving on the roster by labeling the outspoken guard "the most efficient, without question," the length of the bench and starting lineup combined. Ainge ended all speculation (for the time being) by declaring the hypothetical notion of a Celtics's team performing better without Kyrie on the floor as "Completely Illogical." Where do you stand on the debate, comment below?
