Kyrie thinks veteran leadership would help stabilize Celtics

At this point last season, the Boston Celtics were 11-2 - about two-thirds of the way through a 16-game win streak. Things are a little different this year, with the team wobbling along at 7-6 and struggling to find its identity on offense.

After Sunday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, star point guard Kyrie Irving wondered whether a well-tenured veteran might help stabilize a team which currently ranks 27th in the league in offensive rating, scoring just 104.2 points per 100 possessions.

"I think it just comes with, just some experience," Irving said, according to MassLive's Tom Westerholm. "Looking at this locker room, me being in my eighth year and being a 'veteran' as well as Al (Horford) and (Aron) Baynes. Right now I think it would be nice if we had someone that was a 15-year vet, a 14-year vet that could kind of help us race along the regular season and understand it's a long marathon rather than just a full-on sprint, when you want to play, when you want to do what you want to do. It's all about attitude and effort. That's all it is."

It isn't clear whether Irving was making a direct petition to his team's front office or simply preaching patience as one of the league's least-experienced teams works through its growing pains. The Celtics' roster is currently maxed out at 15 players, with a pair of prospects on two-way contracts; testing Irving's hypothesis would require jettisoning one of his colleagues to make room for a veteran.

Last year's Celtics managed a 55-27 regular-season record en route to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals - with no player older or more experienced than Horford. Those lofty results came despite Gordon Hayward and Irving both missing time with injury.