King James Gospel
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Kyrie Irving and Cavs Depth Should Scare League

By Jared Mueller

Jan 4, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrate during a time out against the Toronto Raptors during the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 122-100. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrate during a time out against the Toronto Raptors during the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 122-100. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by Kyrie Irving, blew past the Toronto Raptors. Irving and the team’s depth should scare the rest of the league.

When Irving signed an extension with the Cavs then LeBron James agreed to return home then rumors/reports that Kevin Love was coming too, the league took notice. In theory, those three together created an amazing Big 3 to rival any the league had seen.

The first year didn’t turn out as well as most expected, especially in the early going but the signs were there. After acquiring J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov, the Cavs destroyed the NBA. They came up 2 game short in the NBA Finals without Irving (played hobbled in 1 game) or Love (didn’t play at all).

That Finals team brought back Love, who signed long-term in Cleveland as well, just got Irving back from injury, have long time big man Anderson Varejao available again and brought in veterans Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson.

Last night, the combination of Irving and the team’s overall depth sent fear throughout the rest of the NBA.

Irving scored a season-high 25 points but that doesn’t tell the whole story, that is just box score looking. His boxscore was incredible and deserves to be looked at: 10-16 from the floor, eight assists and six rebounds. Incredible.

How Irving did it against the 5th best scoring defense in the league was what was most impressive. Deep Jumpers, spinning layups, fall away jumpers, floaters in the lane. Irving attacked relentlessly last night. But he wasn’t just throwing up shots and going 1 on 1. As his 8 assists tell you, he was moving the ball and getting people involved.

The under control Irving looked like he had control over everything on the court. His normal ball handling was amazing but he was able to draw defenders, find his men and do it all while keeping control of the pace of the game.

He also was not shy about getting physical. He drove into Raptor defenders, was in contact on defense all game long and even pulled in those 6 rebounds.

Irving’s explosion last night allowed LeBron to hang out on the bench all of the 4th quarter. What is scarier, for the NBA, is how Irving’s presence opened things up for the rest of the team, specifically James and Love.

James was able to pick his spots, play tough defense and slash off the ball all night. Not only did he only play 31 minutes but those minutes were far less strenuous because of Irving. LeBron was able to conserve energy at times and use his high-level basketball IQ to react instead of having to initiate the offense.

When Irving is playing well, opponents won’t know what to do with LeBron. If they play off of him he can catch and shoot or cut to the basket with a full head of steam. If they stay close to him it creates space for Irving and the Cavs shooters and creates limited chance to help off on any drives to the basket. Scary place to be.

Love didn’t have a great boxscore game last night but Irving’s presence was clearly felt. Love was given some wide open looks that just didn’t fall most of the night. Irving also does a good job of getting an entry pass into the post for Love, something many NBA players have little experience doing. While Love’s offensive production might go down, like LeBron, he can focus some of his energy into other things. Last night that was solid defense that included 3 blocks.

With Irving capable, and likely, to take over games allowing LeBron and Love to be more efficient, the Cavs depth can shine even more. J.R. Smith took 17 shots last night, 14 from behind the 3 point line, for 24 points.

J.R. Smith took 17 shots last night, 14 from behind the 3 point line, for 24 points. With Irving and James, and even Matthew Dellavedova, handling the ball, Smith should be taking almost all spot up 3 pointers with open looks the rest of the year.

Tristan Thompson had 14 points, on 4 of 6 shooting, while also making all 6 of his free throws. With teams having to commit to Irving and James, Thompson is likely to be open and get fouled by rotating defenders.

Delly had 11 points, making 3 of 4 shots, including 2 of his 3 from downtown. He also had 4 assists and 3 rebounds. For all his production, Delly is still a limited player. With Irving playing at a high level, Delly can focus on being solid and not trying to do much. He also will be left open from deep when sharing the floor with Irving.

Iman Shumpert took 5 shots, including 3 from deep, while getting 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Shump is able to focus on defense, which he has been amazing since he return, and not have to worry about handling the ball too much or creating for himself.

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Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson, Jared Cunningham, James Jones and Varejao either barely played or didn’t play at all. That is a lot of talent that only combined to play 15 minutes last night.

Anyone facing the Cavs should be shuddering at the thought of Kyrie Irving back and even better and what it means for the team. What it allows LeBron James and Kevin Love to do. How it opens things up for the amazing depth on the team and gives those role players confidence to just do their job cannot be measured.

Kyrie Irving and the depth of the Cavs is real, it is here and it is beautiful.

Do you think the Cavs are even better this year than last now that Kyrie Irving is back and healthy?