Kyrie Can Help The King

Even though so many have given up on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, it would be foolish to think the Golden State Warriors should be celebrating up 2-0.

Especially, after they made a 3-1 comeback themselves looking even more outmatched against their opponent than the Cleveland Cavaliers do against them.

Especially when the case with superstar Kyrie Irving. He hasn’t been figured out by the Warriors, he just hasn’t figured them out. The stats say Kyrie Irving can help this team win. How can he?

Kyrie has to help LeBron by scoring more at the rim instead of always pulling up from midrange so frequently. He’s often shooting contested shots and shoots 34.6% when a defender is within a foot of him. In halfcourt or in transition, Kyrie has to get all the way to the rim and try to convert. The shooting is okay, but he should try to be more judicious with it.

In the playoffs, he’s been more effective when trying to make a layup rather than a shot, shooting 54.8% in close and 32.1% from 3-10 feet. His free throw shooting is reliable at 85.1%, and he should look to get to the line as well.

Using a pick and roll with LeBron in a horns set or with side action to get a mismatch on a roll for LeBron or another player or LeBron or a wing on the rim for a shot or a pass to the roller.

Getting other players involved will be easier my providing him with options and allowing him to pick his mismatch between multiple players. The Cavaliers are finding it hard to score and another playmaker is needed. In these playoffs, The King has scored 45.8% of twos by assist and 59.1% of threes.

Being accessible for catch-and-shoot threes will help the anemic patterns of the Cavaliers offense. Regardless of JR Smith, Kyrie has the smoothest looking three in the starting lineup. He has to drift away from his defender or run around screens to be a shooter, not just call for the ball and try to dribble his way into a pull-up jumper. He’s shooting 52.9% on catch-and-shoot threes throughout the playoffs.

Allowing LeBron to be the playmaker, but never failing to gain or sustain his rhythm might be the most difficult thing for Kyrie. He has to attack from all three levels, just like LeBron, and he should strike quickly especially where LeBron doesn’t make a living.

More than that, though, he has to be a terrific option for LeBron to pass to. Dwyane Wade level good. LeBron is the best passing point guard on this team, and Kyrie must allow to be. There’s more to that than letting him set up the others. After averaging 24.3 points per game in these playoffs, his scoring average has dropped down to 19.6 points per game after just two in the Finals.

Kyrie has to keep playing great defense and being willing to listen to coaching. He’s been effective for the Cavaliers with help defense that leads to a lot of steals. In general, he’s locked in and seeing how the starters play most of the game.

I’d say he deserves a lot of credit for Curry failing to drop 20 points two games in a row. When having to guard a bigger player on the drive, it would help if he had help behind him. Kyrie hears the game plan and tries to do right for his team, being the consummate student and ultimate professional at a very young age. He’s responsible for 29.3% of steals, 17% of blocks, and 26.8% of block attempts for the team.

There is still hope for the Cleveland Cavaliers. If Kyrie Irving wants to attack like Russell Westbrook he should, but he can’t half do it, pulling up from midrange more than he gets to the rim. The King shouldn’t lose hope yet, and neither should you Clevelanders, because Kyrie Irving still hasn’t played his game.

We’ve seen literally none of this.