Kyrie Irving hasn't played a game since March as his 2017-18 season was ended by knee surgery.The point guard had to watch on as his Boston Celtics teammates reached the Eastern Conference Finals last year but just fell short against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a Game 7 loss.He's endured a long recovery process - which also required a second surgery this summer to remove screws - to get back healthy.But it finally seems like he's ready to get back on the court and his knee looks to be stronger than ever.

Looking the part

Celtics fans will surely have been excited by a video that surfaced on social media on Monday which showed the five-time All-Star moving freely and looking impressive.

He participated in a star-studded five-on-five scrimmage alongside Kevin Durant, James Harden and several Miami Heat players at the team's American Airlines Arena.

According to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports, somebody who was present at the Miami workout said Irving looked "amazing" and played for two straight days with no restrictions.

This appears to back up the words of Celtics general manager Danny Ainge who last month said that he expected both Irving and Gordon Hayward to be at "full speed" for training camp.

"I don't want to hype it up too much, but I'm saying that if our training camp were starting today that they would be here today going full speed," Ainge told ESPN.

"It's not like they need an extra month. I think that they know they have an extra month, so they are sort of pacing themselves.

"They're playing as if to build up to that opening day of training camp [Sept. 26]."

From what we saw in the video, Kyrie certainly looks ready for the new season to start as soon as possible.

He looked quick getting around the court and was showcasing his flashy handles and silky layups at the rim.

With the 25-year-old set to return to the fold, Boston has already been installed as the favourites to win the Eastern Conference next year.

The departure of LeBron James from the east is another huge reason why they're being tipped to make it to the finals for the first time since 2010.

With two All-Stars returning on a team that made the conference finals without them, the expectations are high for something special to take place in Beantown this season.

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