Kyrie Irving is Better Than You Think
When LeBron James shocked the world and returned to Cleveland in the Summer of 2014, he put back on his General Manager cap for the first time since his 'Decision'.
In South Beach, Pat Riley ran the personnel show. Riley was the one who put James in his place after he could virtually get away with anything in Cleveland. Riley denied "The King" to allow his friends to tag along on team flights and he also basically told LeBron to shut up when LeBron came to him asking for coach Erik Spoelstra to be fired during his first tumultuous weeks of the season in Miami.
Coming back to 'The Land', though, LeBron traded the 1st overall pick in the 2014 draft, Andrew Wiggins, as well as Anthony Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love. The trade was highly appealing for LeBron since Love was a proven star who could help James bring Cleveland that coveted championship sooner than later, since LeBron was approaching 30 very fast and didn't want to have to adjust to some teenager's timetable for greatness.
LeBron James. Kevin Love. Kyrie Irving. They were supposed to be unstoppable on offense and would figure out the defense part later. Fast forward to the Finals that year, and LeBron is facing the Warriors without Love and Irving, who had both succumbed to injuries during the playoff run.
Without Irving and Love around, the Cavs actually started giving the Dubs a fight. The effects of LeBron's success without his two co-mates sparked referendums on Love and Irving's highly polarizing games. The both couldn't play a lick of defense. Love had been pigeon-holed into the Chris Bosh role and Irving was just chucking the ball up too much.
Questions arose if the two were the right pieces to build around LeBron, since they didn't really compliment James' superior game. Those questions are still floating around today, and hold merit since Love is obviously not the same player he used to be due to his horrible fit with the team.
Turn on the time-machine yet again, and transport yourself to June 13th, 2016. The Cavs just defeated the Warriors in Game 5. Love put up a miserable stat-line of 2 points and 3 rebounds that is a numerical representation of how low Love's confidence is right now. I mean, Love has less confidence than fans have of seeing their favorite character survive a season of Game of Thrones.
But Love was not the story of last night. In some ways, neither was LeBron, although his 41 point, 16 rebound, 7 assist annihilation should not go without praise. The true story is Kyrie, someone who is proving by the minute that he can be LeBron's running mate.
First of all, Kyrie is a baby by NBA standards, a measly 24 years old. He just put up three straight 30 point games in the NBA Finals!!!! In Game 6, he dropped 41 on a ridiculously efficient 17-24 shooting. By the way, those were tough shots he was making!
Yet people brush away Irving's age and expect him to keep up with LeBron freaking James. Of course he can do it, but this was just recently his 7th ever NBA finals game. Irving can and probably will get better on defense. He is just wrapping up his second season with LeBron, though he has missed good chunks of time the past two years. His chemistry with LeBron will only get better, since it can't get any worse at the moment since the two are just yo-yoing going one-on-one against the Warriors.
Don't quote me on this, but how many players 24 and under have dropped 30 points three times in a row in the NBA Finals. If there even is a list at all other than Irving, it cannot be very long.
Irving is by no means a perfect player, and the criticism he currently gets would be more suitable if he was playing this same way at age 28, when he should be transformed into a smarter, more-nuanced player.
There is no guarantee Irving evolves into anything more than an unbelievable scorer in a point guard's body. There is no guarantee he gets better at defense, but he has flashed some really good instincts on that end. There is no guarantee he ever gets his teammates more involved.
But let's at least give him the shot.
In South Beach, Pat Riley ran the personnel show. Riley was the one who put James in his place after he could virtually get away with anything in Cleveland. Riley denied "The King" to allow his friends to tag along on team flights and he also basically told LeBron to shut up when LeBron came to him asking for coach Erik Spoelstra to be fired during his first tumultuous weeks of the season in Miami.
Coming back to 'The Land', though, LeBron traded the 1st overall pick in the 2014 draft, Andrew Wiggins, as well as Anthony Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love. The trade was highly appealing for LeBron since Love was a proven star who could help James bring Cleveland that coveted championship sooner than later, since LeBron was approaching 30 very fast and didn't want to have to adjust to some teenager's timetable for greatness.
LeBron James. Kevin Love. Kyrie Irving. They were supposed to be unstoppable on offense and would figure out the defense part later. Fast forward to the Finals that year, and LeBron is facing the Warriors without Love and Irving, who had both succumbed to injuries during the playoff run.
Without Irving and Love around, the Cavs actually started giving the Dubs a fight. The effects of LeBron's success without his two co-mates sparked referendums on Love and Irving's highly polarizing games. The both couldn't play a lick of defense. Love had been pigeon-holed into the Chris Bosh role and Irving was just chucking the ball up too much.
Questions arose if the two were the right pieces to build around LeBron, since they didn't really compliment James' superior game. Those questions are still floating around today, and hold merit since Love is obviously not the same player he used to be due to his horrible fit with the team.
Turn on the time-machine yet again, and transport yourself to June 13th, 2016. The Cavs just defeated the Warriors in Game 5. Love put up a miserable stat-line of 2 points and 3 rebounds that is a numerical representation of how low Love's confidence is right now. I mean, Love has less confidence than fans have of seeing their favorite character survive a season of Game of Thrones.
But Love was not the story of last night. In some ways, neither was LeBron, although his 41 point, 16 rebound, 7 assist annihilation should not go without praise. The true story is Kyrie, someone who is proving by the minute that he can be LeBron's running mate.
First of all, Kyrie is a baby by NBA standards, a measly 24 years old. He just put up three straight 30 point games in the NBA Finals!!!! In Game 6, he dropped 41 on a ridiculously efficient 17-24 shooting. By the way, those were tough shots he was making!
Yet people brush away Irving's age and expect him to keep up with LeBron freaking James. Of course he can do it, but this was just recently his 7th ever NBA finals game. Irving can and probably will get better on defense. He is just wrapping up his second season with LeBron, though he has missed good chunks of time the past two years. His chemistry with LeBron will only get better, since it can't get any worse at the moment since the two are just yo-yoing going one-on-one against the Warriors.
Don't quote me on this, but how many players 24 and under have dropped 30 points three times in a row in the NBA Finals. If there even is a list at all other than Irving, it cannot be very long.
Irving is by no means a perfect player, and the criticism he currently gets would be more suitable if he was playing this same way at age 28, when he should be transformed into a smarter, more-nuanced player.
There is no guarantee Irving evolves into anything more than an unbelievable scorer in a point guard's body. There is no guarantee he gets better at defense, but he has flashed some really good instincts on that end. There is no guarantee he ever gets his teammates more involved.
But let's at least give him the shot.
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