As of right now, Kyrie Irving is better than John Wall

After Kyrie Irving’s magnificent 42-point performance on Tuesday night against Boston, it is safe to say that for the time being, he is a better player than John Wall.

In a league that is ever-changing, there is one consistent in NBA.  Great players showing up and delivering when the lights shine brightest, and that is exactly what Kyrie Irving did in Game 4 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.

In a similar situation 10 days ago, John Wall had the chance to get the Washington Wizards to their first conference finals appearance since 1979. All Wall had to do was beat the same Celtics team in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. These are the games where players, such as Wall, have the opportunity to better their legacies and silence the doubters.

Just ask Kyrie about what coming up clutch in Game 7’s can do for your career.

Instead Wall offered up a forgetful performance, going 8-23 from the field (35%) and 1-8 (12.5%) from beyond the arc. Wall especially went M.I.A in the final 19 minutes, going 0-11 (0-7 from beyond the arc) and looked beyond scared of the moment.

To take that next step, Wall is going to have to get over the hump when it comes to  crunch time in the postseason. His overall numbers were impressive, but to end his season with such a subpar performance leaves a stain on his overall season.  Not many outside of DC will remember Wall’s game-winner in Game 6 after his disappearing act in the second half of Game 7.

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In Game 4 on Tuesday night, all the pressure was suddenly thrust onto Irving after LeBron James picked up four fouls in the first half for the first time in his career and had sit for the final 6+ minutes of the 1st half.  Shortly after LeBron went to the bench, the Boston lead swelled to 16 points.  The Cavs, led by Irving, battled back and cut the lead to 10 by halftime.

The Cavs were staring a 2-2 series and a Game 5 in Boston in the face when Irving came to life and put the team on his back the way true superstars do.  In the the third quarter alone, Kyrie dropped 21 points on 9-10 shooting (2-3 from beyond the arc) and turned a 10 point deficient into a seven point lead for the Cavs by the end of the quarter.

What was more remarkable about his third quarter performance is that Irving finished the quarter despite injuring his ankle.  He channeled his inner Isiah Thomas (The Detroit Pistons Hall of Fame point guard) and simply tied his sneaker extra tight and kept giving Boston the business.

Kyrie capped off his incredible quarter by hitting this deep three pointer that set Quicken Loans Arena into a frenzy.

Kyrie finished with 42 points (a playoff career high) on 15-22 (68 percent) shooting and put on a performance that will go down as not only one of his best but one of the best in recent NBA playoff memory.  This could very well be the game where we say Kyrie officially arrived, just as we did with LeBron after his magnificent performance in Game 5 of the 2007  Eastern Conference Finals.

As you see against a common opponent, Kyrie put up the better overall shooting numbers.  So far through four games he is averaging 26 points, 5 assists on 62 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent from beyond the arc. Not to mention he is also shooting 91 percent (20-22) from the foul line.

Cleveland Cavaliers

On the other hand, in the biggest series of his career, John Wall was average for much of the series vs. Boston.  He did average 25 points and 10 assists, but shot just 40 percent from the field and an even worse 29 percent from beyond the arc and also averaged four turnovers per game.

In addition to that, the same defenders for Boston that were giving Wall fits (Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Jae Crowder) are seemingly powerless against Irving’s offensive wizardry in this series.  In games two through four Irving is shooting a combined 17-26 (65.4 percent) against those three Celtic players who succeeded in defending Wall.

Against Bradley alone, who is All-NBA defender, Irving is 10-14 against him.  Even when Boston throws their best perimeter defender at Kyrie, he still finds a way to score the ball with ease.

Overall in the last three games, Irving has scored 94 points and shot an outstanding 68.8 percent from the floor as well as 58 percent from beyond the arc.  In Wall’s three best games against the same Boston team, he managed to score a combined 93 points, but shot just 40 percent from the floor and just 33 percent from beyond the arc.

While Wall is a better distributor than Irving, that gap is closing.  Kyrie has made it a point to become a more willing distributor for much of the season and has succeeded in doing so. This league is all about shooting efficiency and Kyrie gives you better much better efficiency from the field than Wall and doesn’t turn the ball over nearly as much.  Irving is also a much better finisher at the rim and blows Wall away in overall ball-handling skills.

The one major advantage many believe Wall holds over Irving is on the defensive end, and to Wall’s credit, he has been more willing to play defense than Irving over the course of both of their careers.  However, in a league that is all about scoring the ball, Irving is one of the best at doing so, while Wall is still searching for a consistent jump shot.  It also should be noted that Irving steps up his defensive effort in the playoffs and is not a liability on that end of the floor.

However this whole conversation all comes down to one major thing; Kyrie lives for the big moments, he has throughout his entire career.

In last year’s NBA Finals Irving quieted all his doubters by outplaying the unanimous MVP Steph Curry.  Irving averaged 27 points on 47 percent shooting from the field, 41 percent from beyond the arc and 94 percent from the foul line and hit the shot that clinched the championship for Cleveland.

Irving seemingly has that “killer instinct” that you want in a player and can take over any game he chooses to.  Wall has yet to prove he can be relied on to put a team on his back. The best guard on the floor in the second half of Game 7 for the Wizards was Bradley Beal, not Wall. You can’t be considered a superstar and disappear when your team needs you the most.

On the surface many would deem Wall is the better player because of his statistics, but that is simply not the case. Kyrie has a skill only a handful of players have in this league, he can get a bucket from just about anywhere on the floor whenever he wants to.  Wall cannot do that.

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Both of these point guards are entertaining to watch, however Tuesday night’s game should end the debate for now as to who is the better overall player.

Who do you think is the better player between Kyrie Irving and John Wall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.