Norling: Kyrie proving to be a cut above for Celtics

There are few things better for one's mood than a haircut. The feeling of leaving the barber shop knowing you're as well groomed as you've been since, well, your last haircut is a remarkably empowering feeling. It's the reason why many men are completely fine with the exorbitant cost of their girlfriend's or wive's hair appointments. The elevation in her mood is more than worth the price of admission, but put a pin in that.

There are few players in the NBA as capable of dazzling fans on a nightly basis as Kyrie Irving. His ability to splash 3-pointers in the eye of a smothering defender has been well noted, as have his ball-on-a-string handles. The mystifying and borderline cruel way he slithers into the painted area and effortlessly finishes a seemingly physical impossible layup is unmatched. And when he's really locked in, like he was when he poured in 43 points on 18-of-26 shooting against the Toronto Raptors, he said he feels "pretty peaceful."

Kyrie Irving's 2018-19 campaign thus far is further proof that a haircut is incredibly empowering. The Boston Celtics' star point guard is already in the midst of what would be his best season yet, and if he keeps up the blistering pace that started with a haircut, it may very well end with the NBA Most Valuable Player award.

This may, at first glance, strike as hyperbole. Certainly the way Giannis Antetokounmpo has started the season should put him in the conversation. Kawhi Leonard's incredible health and elite play will earn him votes. But it's Irving who has just pulled his seat up to the table. Especially considering that, for 53 minutes of basketball in a game where Leonard was also on the floor, Irving was absolutely the best player in the game.

Irving started the season in lethargy. Plenty of jokes have been made about the afro he donned to start the season, modeling himself after Kobe Bryant's early career 'fro, was weighing him down. While the afro undoubtedly added to Irving's breadth of coolness, it maybe didn't help his basketball.

The numbers speak for themselves. Pre-haircut Kyrie averaged 14 points per game on 39 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3-point land, while converting only 69 percent of his free throws. He also added 5.5 assists in that span.

Conversely, Fresh-Haircut Kyrie is averaging 28.5 points with a 56/48/91 shooting line and adding 5.6 assists. For context, Stephen Curry is currently averaging 29.5 points with a 51/49/92 shooting line with 6.1 assists, and that's including Curry's historically hot start to the year.

Irving is playing the best basketball of his career, and it isn't only on the offensive side of the ball, either. Through 13 games this season, Irving is posting a career high 1.7 defensive box plus/minus, which is a far cry from his career -1.3. He has shown himself to be a willing and effective defender with a remarkable ability to make clutch plays on the defense leading directly to creating offense in transition.

Irving's defense has traditionally been maligned by critics, and it seems like he heard them, because it has been the most eye-popping change in his game this season. Defense has been a staple of coach Brad Stevens' Celtics, who ranked first in the league in defensive rating last season, and currently rank first in the current campaign; but it has never been a staple of Irving's game. By adding that extra layer this season, Irving has transcended his traditional scorer-only role into something much more valuable: an elite two-way guard. It has also propelled him into the MVP race, as he is currently posting a career high overall box plus/minus of 6.6; outpacing his 6.2 rating a season ago in which he fell out of MVP contention because of injury, and more than double his average BPM as a Cavalier. Irving being such an improved defender should be a terror to the rest of the NBA. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Greenhas already stated his immense level of respect for Irving, and that was before Irving had ever been perceived as anything better than a below-average defender. As good as Irving's defense has been, the offense remains his bread and butter, and it's perhaps better than ever. His remarkable shooting efficiency since the haircut has kept the Celtics mostly afloat during a tough road trip and slow start to the season. It was Irving who shined in the Celtics' most impressive game against the Raptors, as he displayed his remarkable talent for finishing at the rim. Even more impressive than his ridiculously impressive finishing ability, however, was his unmatched creativity in shooting. Irving possesses an innate ability to see angles mere mortals can't, like he did when he found the bucket on a ridiculous bank shot in the second quarter.

Irving also displayed a trait the Celtics sorely missed during last seasons Eastern Conference Finals run; the ability to single-handedly takeover a game and dictate the outcome. Full transparency: the English language has been exhausted when it comes to finding ways to describe what Irving did at times in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Raptors. Instead of doing a disservice by attempting to describe his ethereal performance, here's a video of it:

That was Fresh Haircut Kyrie Irving at the peak of his powers. That was Irving putting the NBA on notice. In a game where the Celtics hosted the NBA's best team by record, and one of its best players in Leonard, it was Irving who rose head and shoulders above the rest.

His hair has changed, and so has his game. Irving is making himself more valuable, and he may yet make himself the most valuable.