Kyrie Irving came to the Boston with regular NBA superstar goals in mind. He wanted his new team to win, and he wanted to be the reason for the winning. Irving knew he was capable of doing more than the Cavaliers offense allowed him, so he set out to prove that he can be the focal point of the offense of a successful team. At 32-10, we’re about ready to jump the gun and say Kyrie has what it takes, but is he becoming the true leader that he thinks he can be?

If Irving wanted to prove he lead a team as a primary scoring option, he’s arguably accomplished that already. His 24.2 points per game is good for 12th in the league, and his 35.8 points per 48 minutes tie him for fourth with Kevin Durant, trailing only James Harden (42.8), Giannis (36.7), and Joel Embiid (36.5). Per basketball-reference, Kyrie’s overall field goal (48.4) and true shooting (59.6) percentages are higher than they have ever been, holding true to the efficiency that Brad Stevens imbibes in his point guards. His improved numbers are proof that Irving indeed had room to grow as a player, and can be coached into realizing his potential. Still, leadership includes much more than scoring.

The truly elite leaders of the NBA can impact the game when their shot isn’t falling. This is what makes LeBron James so dominant, and something we can use to gauge Kyrie’s commitment to leadership. Kyrie wasn’t known as a distributor before joining the Celtics, and some say he still isn’t. His assists about 30% of his teammate's baskets when he’s on the floor, which is about average for him and his five assists per game is slightly less than his average last year. However, recency bias would tell you that Irving is capable of switching gears to facilitating if his teammates are scoring at will. In Friday’s win against Minnesota, Irving totaled eight assists and nine rebounds while Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier continued their hot shooting. Buckets were hard to come by, and Aaron Brooks did a great job of keeping Irving out of his rhythm. Against Cleveland, Irving only managed 11 points, but added six assists and another nine rebounds.There are role players all throughout the league that can pack the stat sheet all the time, but the supply of players who can supply 20 to 30 points on the regular is slim, and Irving’s ability to give the game what it needs is what sets him apart.

To me, the true litmus test for leadership is the ability to make your teammates better. I’m not one to surmise that Irving alone morphed Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier into refined scorers,  but it’s clear that he’s influenced how they play basketball. I’m not talking about only shooting percentages, but their ability to create opportunities on offense. A year ago, a Rozier drive was an all-or-nothing gambit with no certain outcome. But now?

Where did that come from?

And this?

Who is that guy and where is Terry Rozier’s body hidden? At one point I was ready to accept Rozier as a one-dimensional player on offense with a knack for rebounding. Now, he’s looking like a consistent contributor on a team looking for cohesion from their bench.

Before I go, I have one criticism of Irving.

There’s this thing that Brad Stevens always says during timeouts when the Celtics are getting stomped. “Keep hitting singles. Win every possession.” The comeback win against Houston was the perfect example of hitting singles. A stop here and a bucket there brought the Celtics back from 26 down, although they were lucky to have the opportunity. A flurry of singles brought the Celtics to within two points with about two minutes remaining, the crowd was really into the game. Irving, after failing to create space for himself, takes a swing for the fences and misses a contested three. Of course, if that shot goes in we would be celebrating it and I might not be writing about it. Regardless, the Rockets had no answer to any Celtic who wanted to get to the rim, and Kyrie might as well have had a garden gnome defending him. In retrospect, it’s a no-brainer to take the ball to the rim until the defense comes up with an answer, and it’s moments like those where Irving can really take control of a game. Instead, we witnessed the most chaotic end to a basketball game in recent memory. The “keep hitting singles” philosophy applies to exactly that type of situation, where the cooler heads will prevail. Luckily for the Celtics, it was Harden who crumbled.