Game Theory 101: Why Kyrie Irving will likely choose to sit out the rest of the season

NBA Boston Celtics Kyrie Irving (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
NBA Boston Celtics Kyrie Irving (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 13: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics and head coach Brad Stevens look on during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden on December 13, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 13: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics and head coach Brad Stevens look on during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden on December 13, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

Explaining why Kyrie Irving will likely – or should – decide to sit out the rest of the season for the Boston Celtics

Everyone wondered what was being discussed over Burrito Bowls in a Boston Chipotle this week:

And news broke that Kyrie Irving may need pins removed from his knee- either sooner or later. Let’s see if we can guess, using Game Theory, what he and Danny Ainge may have been talking about during this meal and what it means for the rest of the playoffs.

According to Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, author of The Predictioneer’s Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future, it’s helpful to consider people as rational actors in the game of life. Now keep in mind, our subject today, Kyrie Irving, was willing to leave LeBron James’ side to play with the New York Knicks last summer and thinks the Earth is flat. So reading his mind will be no easy endeavor.

But let’s try anyway and make a prediction about how it shapes the rest of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.