Danny Ainge scoffs at notion Celtics are better without Kyrie Irving

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You've heard the rumblings that the Boston Celtics may actually play better without Kyrie Irving.

Those rumblings only grew louder after Wednesday night, when the C's improved to 9-2 without Irving this season by defeating the Detroit Pistons.

But Danny Ainge has a message for the conspiracy theorists: Just stop.

"It's completely illogical and makes no sense," the Celtics' president of basketball operations said Thursday on the 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Toucher & Rich" when asked about the notion Boston may play better with Irving sidelined.

"If you just look at the data over the last two years, our team is so much better -- I mean, it wasn't but a month ago we were trying to figure out, how in the world are we going to score without Kyrie on the court?"

The numbers do support Ainge's point: If you look past the record -- which includes several wins over very bad teams -- the C's are much better when their All-Star point guard plays.

"Kyrie is by far our most efficient offensive player," Ainge added. "Without question. And our team when Kyrie is on the court over the last two years is by far more efficient when Kyrie is playing than when he's not.

"I think it's ridiculous to think (otherwise)."

Ainge isn't naive, though. He knows Irving attempts a ton of shots (17.9 per game, the most on the team), and that Irving's absence means players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward have more opportunities to contribute.

He knows because he's been in those players' shoes.

"Heck, when I used to play with Bird -- I never didn't want Larry Bird on my team, but I got very excited when Larry or Kevin weren't going to play in a game that night," Ainge added. "Because that meant more shots and more opportunities, and that was fun.

"But I knew that to win it all, you can't be without those great players. And that's how I feel about Kyrie."

Ainge's staunch defense of Irving comes as rumors swirl about whether the 26-year-old will keep his promise to re-sign with the Celtics this summer or skip town in free agency. Ainge remains confident Irving will stick around, though, and unsurprisingly believes he's essential to Boston's long-term success.

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