After viewing countless posts and comments regarding Kyrie Irving on r/nba, I decided to investigate an interesting point I saw on a thread discussing a possible trade idea involving Kyrie Irving to the LA Clippers.commented “LA’s too close to the edge of the Earth for Kyrie’s comfort”.
This comment made me wonder, does Kyrie play worse closer to what he considers the edge of the Earth?
Assuming that the edge of the Earth is somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, cities on the Western Coast of the US would be considered close to the edge of the Earth. I narrowed teams in the NBA down to the Portland Trailblazers, the Sacramento Kings, the Golden State Warriors, the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers.
Do Kyrie’s stats while playing in these cities appear to be any worse due to uncomfortableness playing close to the edge of the Earth?
Averages over 2011 to 2017 in cities close to the edge of the Earth:
2011/12: 21.0/2.0/4.0
2012/13: 22.6/3.0/6.6
2013/14: 11.8/2.6/3.8
2014/15: 22.4/3.2/5.0
2015/16: 21.5/2.0/5.0
2016/17: 27.0/3.8/4.8
Regular career averages between 2011 and 2017:
2011/12: 18.5/3.7/5.4
2012/13: 22.5/3.7/5.9
2013/14: 20.8/3.6/6.1
2014/15: 21.7/3.2/5.2
2015/16: 19.6/3.0/4.7
2016/17: 25.2/3.2/5.8
This data is interesting due to Kyrie actually scoring more points per game on average against teams closer to the edge of the Earth annually in each season in comparison to his regular season averages, barring 2013/14. Compared to rebounds and assists, which were lower in every city close to the edge of the Earth on average over the season compared to regular season averages (except rebounds in 2016/17 and assists in 2015/16 and 2012/13).
From this information it can be gathered that perhaps Kyrie is concerned with jumping off the edge of the Earth while attempting to grab a rebound and concerned that he will pass the ball off the edge. These reasons can explain the lower rebound and assist rates while in cities closer to the edge of the Earth. I cannot think of a reason why Kyrie’s points per game are the opposite of what I expected and are higher while playing close to the edge of the Earth. Perhaps he wants to end the game quicker by having a blowout victory and therefore gets buckets.
Here are some other stats:
Averages in cities close to the edge of the Earth:
@Por: 18.6/2.6/3.8
@Sac: 19.8/2.6/5
@GSW: 21/4.6/5.6
@LAC: 20/3.25/5.5
@LAL: 23.8/1.5/5
Win rate @Por, @Sac, @GSW, @LAC, @LAL: 0.79
Total average in cities close to the edge of the Earth: 21.0/2.8/4.9
Career average: 21.6/3.4/5.5
tl;dr Kyrie is scared of the edge of the Earth.
(All stats exclude playoffs)