Kyrie Irving will shine in the 2017 NBA Finals
He’ll be on the basketball world’s biggest stage and shine in the 2017 NBA Finals. Meet Cleveland Cavaliers’ in-house “Warrior-killer”, Kyrie Irving.
Years from now, Cleveland Cavaliers fans will get to tell their kids about the first time the team won a championship and while LeBron James’ name will be as recognizable as Michael Jordan’s, their kids may wonder who this Kyrie Irving fellow who James embraced as if he was flesh and blood, his own little brother.
Irving, they’ll say, was a magician. A warrior.
No, a Warrior-killer.
Irving’s regular season splits from the 2015-2016 season, where he averaged 10.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on 26.9 percent shooting from the field and 11.1 percent shooting from three-point range, would suggest that the Golden State Warriors had his number until you look at the game logs and realize that Irving’s first game of the season came on December 20th, as he recovered from fracturing his left kneecap in Game 1 the 2015 NBA Finals.
Irving’s third game of the season was against the Warriors, on Christmas Day. His second game against the Warriors was his 13th game of the regular season and the Cavs’ 39th game of the regular season. Everyone else was literally in midseason form and Irving was trying to work out the kinks. In fact, Irving only played 24.4 minutes per game against the Warriors in the 2015-2016 regular season.
While it may have looked like the Warriors would have little to worry about with Irving, especially considering the Cavs’ success without him in the 2015 NBA Finals, he set the record straight with his performance in the 2016 NBA Finals.
| Tota | Tota | Shoo | Shoo | Shoo | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | G | GS | FG% | 3P% | FT% | MP | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK |
| 2 | Kyrie Irving | 7 | 7 | .468 | .405 | .939 | 39.0 | 27.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 0.7 |
| Team Totals | 7 | .456 | .329 | .725 | 240.0 | 100.4 | 43.9 | 18.0 | 9.3 | 5.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2017.
It won’t be called a continuation but that’s in line with Irving’s stat line from Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals, where he scored 23 points, had 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in nearly 44 minutes of game-action while shooting 45.5 percent from the field.
This season, Irving outplayed Stephen Curry on Christmas Day with what was truly a Kobe Bryant-like performance. Curry scored 15 points and had 3 assists while shooting 2-7 from three-point range. Irving scored 25 points, had 10 assists and 7 steals. While he shot 11-27 from the field he shot 2-5 from three-point range, numbers that show how aggressive Irving was in his attack.
In their second matchup, Curry got the better of Irving but that’s not saying much as nobody on the Cavs except Iman Shumpert had a good shooting night. It’s also not saying much because while Curry had 20 points, he only shot 35.0 percent from the field. Irving scored 17 points on 31.6 percent shooting from the field. Where Curry made his mark in that matchup was as a facilitator, as he finished the game with 11 assists. Irving, whose fixation with setting up his teammates hadn’t yet started, finished the game with 2.
What an analyst can glean from these two matchups, and that of Irving’s performance in both of the Finals, is that Irving is more than capable of excelling against the Warriors.
His ball-handling and shooting ability will allow him to get a shot off against any defender nearly every time down and the Cavs will use 1-3 pick-and-rolls, 1-4 pick-and-rolls and 1-5 pick-and-rolls to get Irving in matchups where he can beat a player in the frontcourt off-the-dribble. They may even run 1-2 pick and rolls to get Klay Thompson, who has the best mix of size and athleticism to guard Irving, onto J.R. Smith if the Warriors try to hide Curry on defense.
That lets Irving go “mano y mano” with Curry, who doesn’t like to be danced on as much as he dances on other players.
With the shooters the Cavs have, and there’s at least one shooter for every position, Irving has as much space to attack the rim as anyone, especially if pick-and-rolls with LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson leave the rim open for him to attack and finish with a crafty, acrobatic layup.
Irving’s passing, which has been a focus for him as of late, also lends itself to this matchup because the moment you overplay Irving’s ability to drive, he’ll set up Thompson or James as a roll man or hit a shooter from outside. He’ll even pass up an open shot to get his teammate a better shot and it keeps his teammates happy, involved and in-rhythm and keeps the defense honest.
Quite frankly, Irving may be the most underrated player in the NBA today.
How many point guards would you pick over him?
Chris Paul (maybe), John Wall (maybe), Curry (maybe).
His scoring ability is unparalleled as a point guard because of his ability, and inclination, to score from all three levels of the floor on a game-by-game basis. His ball-handling is the best in the NBA because it doesn’t just rely on changing speeds and sleight of hand; beside Irving’s obvious bag of tricks, his ball-handling ability allows him improvise and surprise. His passing is nifty, quick and creative. His defensive effort has improved, as have his conditioning, and it’s no longer a strange sight to see him excelling on the defensive end.
He has the “killer instinct”.
He’s, in fact, the “Warrior-killer”.
Irving will shine on the NBA’s biggest stage. I just suggest you get ready for the show.
Related Story: Cavs - Warriors III: 2017 Finals Schedule and Odds
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