Isaiah vs Kyrie - scary close

[The One]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&p1=thomais02&p2=irvinky01&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=#per_minute::none

------G----GS   -MP   --FG%   3P%   2P%   FT%   TRB   AST   STL TO   PF----PTS
K.I.   256   256   8832   0.45   0.39   0.48   0.86   3.7   5.9    1.5   3.0   2.3   21.9
I.T-   283   154   8001   0.44   0.36   0.49   0.86   3.1   5.9    1.2   2.7   2.8   19.9

*-per 36 minutes

I know they've often been compared to each other, but when I look at the numbers...Wow...that's close.


Of course, one thing we can't forget - $$$

K.I. - $16 million next year, up to $21 million in '19-'20

I.T. - $6.9 million next year, DOWN to $6.2 million in '17-'18.


Suffice it to say, the Celtics got a good deal with I.T.!!!

[ahonui06]

It does help Kyrie that he is 6'3 compared to Isaiah's 5'9. 

On the flip side, Kyrie is injury-prone and that could severely derail his career. IT4 is relatively healthy.

[KG Living Legend]

Dude adjust those numbers so we can see then better for a TP

[The One]

Dude adjust those numbers so we can see then better for a TP

I tried...I'm sorry...couldn't make it work after 15 minutes of fiddling with it.

[KG Living Legend]

How about this Irving in his career has never touched Thomas in his per 36 minutes. 26.4 ppg and 7.5 apg for Thomas.

[D.o.s.]

One big thing to note: Irving is already playing 36 minutes per game, while Thomas is unlikely to hit that in the near future. It's unlikely, for example, that IT would shoot 7.2 threes per game if he were playing 36 minutes per game.

Also, if you take the numbers from this year it's not quite as nice to look at, particularly in regards to shooting.
http://bkref.com/tiny/z1l3b

Love the Pizza guy, but he's no Kyrie Irving.

[PhoSita]

The thing with IT is always going to be defense.  Can you ever actually keep him on the floor for 36 minutes without getting killed defensively?  Probably not.

He's a really productive player and you can't ask for a better sparkplug guard to come off your bench.

Maybe the Celts can get by on defense if they put him next to Smart and hide him as much as possible. 

Still, it's a little misleading to put his per-36 numbers next to Kyrie's and suggest their equivalent. 

[Forza Juventus]

Isaiah is not as good as Kyrie but he is still a very good player

[KG Living Legend]

Thomas is legit 5'10" shoes off. And kyrie is 6'1.75" Irving is not long either at 6'4" wingspan. You don't need to be the longest, his handles and creativity set him apart.

[PhoSita]

Isaiah is not as good as Kyrie but he is still a very good player

Agreed.

Kyrie's kinda overrated, too, though I think he's a good player.  Kyrie's only so close to IT's numbers because he doesn't attack the rim enough or make use of his size, plus his defense is pretty bad. 

IT has an excuse for his poor defense, and he gets to the line a ton despite being so small.

[D.o.s.]

aside: I suppose this will wind up being more evidence for CB undervaluing our own players and overestimating everyone else? 

[The One]

Could we say...FACTORING IN THE MONEY...I.T. is as good as Kyrie??

At the end of their respective contracts, Irving will make 3x as much as Thomas.

Yet he doesn't play 3x as many minutes and does not produce 3x as many stats.

[KG Living Legend]

I'm on board factoring in Money.

[greece66]

IT has an excuse for his poor defense, and he gets to the line a ton despite being so small.

If anything being so small helps him draw fouls 
I love his guts

[max215]

IT has an excuse for his poor defense, and he gets to the line a ton despite being so small.

If anything being so small helps him draw fouls 
I love his guts

Against Cleveland IT got to the line 8, 10, 2, and 12 times. He made 31/32. It's a huge part of his game.