BOSTON -- Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving, who was expected to be a minus defender when he arrived in Boston, is the NBA's leader in steals.

Obviously, it's still very early -- the Celtics played their eighth game on Wednesday. It's also worth noting that there's more to defense than just steals. Defense is getting over screens, reading the play, making the correct rotation and contesting. Defense is about positioning and beating an opponent to the spot.

But Irving has been doing a little of everything, and in the process, he has been getting a lot of steals -- 21 total for the season, and four more on Wednesday in the Celtics' win over the Sacramento Kings.

After the game, Irving was asked about Terry Rozier, who told reporters Irving has been letting his more defensive-minded teammates know which player has the most steals. Irving said it's all about motivation.

"Oh, absolutely," Irving said. "Only for motivational sake. If I can get steals and be in the passing lane, so can they. I know they're going to continue to do so, so as long as we're in the right position on the defensive end, holding each other to a high standard on that end, holding teams to some tough shots, making sure our defensive principles are upheld, then we'll be in a good spot. Marcus (Smart), Terry, I expect those guys to be high-steals. That's what those guys do. For me to be kind of leading that with our team is only for motivational sake and I'm gonna continue to do my job on that end."

While Smart and Rozier will certainly record a lot of steals, and while some of the rookies certainly might take inspiration from seeing their leader working hard defensively, Irving has been generally solid on that end. His rotations have been good, and he's fighting to stay attached to his assignment off the ball. Irving frequently got caught ball-watching last year and he died on screens in the pick-and-roll, but in the Celtics' system, he's been working his way over them well.

When pressed about the steals, Irving was honest.

"Some of them just come right to me," he said. "Two of them came to me, they just came right to my hand. Just trying to be in the right spots as much as possible, but also being smart. I had one gamble tonight where I put my hand up. That's just not a great example for our young guys, especially when we're getting the lead and extending it like that. Kind of got over zealous and tried to go after it. You just take out the risk -- the high-risk ones -- and you just stay solid and you'll get a few a night, just being in the right spot."

If Irving continues to stay solid and be in the right spot, his defense will continue to be one of the more pleasant surprises on a Celtics team that -- post-Gordon Hayward's injury -- has had a lot of pleasant surprises.