Kyrie Irving brings Ainge aboard the flat Earth hype train

The Boston Celtics have been on tear, winning their 16th consecutive game in a row.

Conventional wisdom had Boston struggling  after the Gordon Hayward injury on opening night. That’s not been the case largely due to contributions from players still on their rookie contracts. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart have all played important roles in Boston’s early success. But one player in particular has been key to this run — Kyrie Irving.

Last night, Irving scored 47 points on an efficient 16-of-22 shooting. Twitter took note of his efficient night, which came days after Joel Embiid’s big night against the Lakers.

Irving developed a reputation for clutch play during his time in Cleveland, notably in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. He has been outstanding during clutch time this season and he played a big role in the Celtics defeating the Mavs in OT. There were times the streak seemed in jeopardy, but the Celtics stepped up.

Likewise, the official Celtics account highlighted his clutch play.

Additionally, Celtics GM Danny Ainge took note of Irving’s play. And he also had a  little fun, riffing on Irving’s alleged flat earth beliefs. Does Ainge believe the earth is flat? Probably not, but it’s a nice lighthearted gag.

https://twitter.com/danielrainge/status/932823722611892224

Furthermore, Ainge isn’t the only person in Boston that’s more open to Kyrie’s views.

And some members of Basketball Twitter are embracing the absurdity such as this T-shirt owned by James Holas.

Ultimately, does it matter if Irving is sincere about his flat earth beliefs or just trolling? Irving is blossoming in Boston.  Add  that to his high level of play and you get one of the more compelling story lines in the NBA this season, maybe even an MVP candidate?

Next: 30 best shots in NBA playoffs history

Perhaps there’s something Irving knows that we don’t. It’s Kyrie’s (flat?) world and we’re just living in it.