Kyrie Irving would rather play somewhere else

[PandaKidd]

Can we lock this thread and never ever ever ever speak ill of kyrie again. Kid just outplayed Curry and averaged 27 ppg in the finals and hit the dagger 3.

He had incredible drives and finishes at the basket tonight. He's a SUPERSTAR. Teague couldn't carry his jock.

[Jamaaliver]

Can't close it just yet...there's still an open prediction.

Let's add another prediction. Lebron and Kyrie will not play for the same team next year. Either Lebron ditches Cleveland or LeGM has Kyrie shipped away.

Kyrie isn't above criticism. His game is still unrefined. He makes poor decisions at crucial times. His defense...still bears room for improvement.

But he's had three different coaches, with three different systems, in three straight seasons. And has still managed to thrive.


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[MaceCase]

Well let's not gallop off on our horses just yet

I feel like Lebron got by on sheer talent and physicality. Now thats not good enough because there are people better than him talent wise or equal.

again, the difference is Lebron isnt handling his BUSINESS on the court.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/744749488590458880[/tweet]


I'd say Kyrie performed commendably as a good sidekick to LeBron. Could he go on to become Kobe without Shaq in the latter stages of his career or Pippen without Jordan? Time could tell but a lot of the questions about whether he's a franchise player or could be a difference maker as the best player for a team like the Hawks still remain unanswered.

Forget outplaying Curry, LeBron outplayed the universe. Did Kyrie contribute to that Big Bang or did he ride the wave?

[PandaKidd]

Well let's not gallop off on our horses just yet

I feel like Lebron got by on sheer talent and physicality. Now thats not good enough because there are people better than him talent wise or equal.

again, the difference is Lebron isnt handling his BUSINESS on the court.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/744749488590458880[/tweet]


I'd say Kyrie performed commendably as a good sidekick to LeBron. Could he go on to become Kobe without Shaq in the latter stages of his career or Pippen without Jordan? Time could tell but a lot of the questions about whether he's a franchise player or could be a difference maker as the best player for a team like the Hawks still remain unanswered.

Forget outplaying Curry, LeBron outplayed the universe. Did Kyrie contribute to that Big Bang or did he ride the wave?

And at the time that was a 100% complete true statement. I didnt say that Lebron is washed up and he was terrible.

His jumper was broken all year, he looked tired, he wasnt interested in playing in the post, he was settling for jumpers that he shot (IIRC) at a worse clip that every year except his rookie?

All of the sudden, game 5, he starts knocking them down. He put together a 3 game stretch for the ages.

I never questioned his greatness.

But, to act like people on this board think Teague was somehow better to or equal to Kyrie, just laughable.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Huge props to Kyrie for his performances after game 2. I was only able to catch games 6 and 7 after being on vacation during 3-5 and Kyrie looked great in both. The Cavs probably win game 7 comfortably if Lebron lets Kyrie handle the ball throughout the 4th and Kyrie. He really carried their offense in the games where Lebron struggled to hit the outside shot.

Props to you Jamaal, for sticking by Kyrie after those first 2 absymal games. It's crazy to see someone look so terrible in the first 2 games and then completely take over in the next 5 and Kyrie did just that.

[Jamaaliver]

Drives me crazy how much the media narrative changes in the course of a week...

Why Kyrie Irving could emerge as the best running mate LeBron has ever had

As organically as the alliance between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade was constructed in Miami, no such luxury had ever been afforded to Kyrie Irving.

And here in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, on a potential elimination night against the Golden State Warriors, Irving delivered the best supporting performance in Finals history. Forty-one points, 17-of-24 shooting and six assists from Irving...Ultimately, the younger star had delivered a performance that even Wade had never matched.

Just days ago, Irving and James had pounded the ball, sapped the roster’s confidence through isolation plays. But on Monday, the shot-making was historic. Around the league, team scouts and personnel dismiss the pair’s ability to sustain the amount of isolation sets required for this type of output. On this night, though, the my-turn, your-turn system operated better than it ever has.

For one night, Kyrie Irving showcased the youth and the skill set that could form the best sidekick LeBron James has ever had. Right place, right time. Irving is healthy now, nearing his prime years, and there’s no slowing him down.

Here

How Kyrie, Love, and the Cavs' others helped LeBron win the title

The story of the 2016 NBA Finals will forever revolve around LeBron James, who put forth one of the greatest championship performances anyone has ever seen. That focus is well deserved and impossible to argue against. However, it would be a shame if history elided the contributions of LeBron's teammates, a group that had faced considerable criticism early in the series and essentially since James announced his return to the franchise in the summer of 2014. While not without considerable faults, that same collection of players just supported LeBron enough to pull off the most unlikely comeback in NBA Finals history.

Discussion of that supporting cast must begin with Kyrie Irving, a three-time All-Star who nonetheless became a subject of Twittersphere trade proposals after the Warriors targeted his iffy defense in two overwhelming series-opening wins. Irving turned around what could have been a nightmare series with a tide-shifting Game 3 and never looked back despite occasional statistical dips. Irving proved against the Warriors that his iso-heavy style can stay relevant in an era that prizes ball movement and efficiency. He would have been a deserving Finals MVP if not for LeBron's brilliance.

Kyrie's excellence culminated in the series' winning shot, a three-pointer over the outstretched arm of Stephen Curry.

Here

Three reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 7 and a title

2) Kyrie’s crutch

...for someone who turned only 24 last March, Kyrie Irving’s game has a lot of old man to it. Working off one foot in Game 7 due to a sprained left doggie, Irving was a Cavaliers hero long before he hit the 3-pointer that gave the Cavaliers a last-minute lead the 88-win Warriors could not overcome.

Irving was brilliant around the rim in Game 7, notching 26 points on a series of Rod Strickland-esque flips and finishes while all manner of Warriors defenders fell by the wayside. The performance capped a spectacular series from the player that had to watch from a hospital bed, due to a broken right kneecap, as Golden State downed his teammates this time last year.

Kyrie finished the Finals with a 27.1 points per game average. There’s a second reason LeBron James jumped from Miami back to Cleveland in 2014, y’know.

Cavs' historic NBA Finals and what could have been

the Cleveland Cavaliers' dramatic Game 7 championship victory is ripe for history of the revisionist kind.

As in: If Kyrie Irving had not been injured in last year's Finals, would the Cavaliers be back-to-back champions right now, with Stephen Curry & Co. still seeking their first banner?

Irving made the series-deciding shot to break the 11th tie and provide the 20th and final lead change of Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. Lue called Irving's 3-pointer "one of the biggest shots in NBA history."

Curry couldn't provide an answer. He and Klay Thompson struggled both to keep pace with Irving on offense and to stay in front of him on defense throughout most of the series. Irving outscored Curry in four of the seven games (and had 34 points the night Curry scored 38 in Game 4).

Irving averaged 27 points, four rebounds and four assists in the series. It wasn't the 30-11-9 produced nightly by Finals MVP LeBron James, but there wouldn't be celebration in Cleveland without Irving.

Given Irving's play in this series, he could be excused for wondering if his presence for the entirety of last year's Finals would've made the Cavaliers back-to-back champs at the moment.

Klay Thompson was asked if Irving was the difference between last year and this year, and he acknowledged, "He makes a huge difference."

It was evident. If you want to engage in a debate of whether Irving could have changed the outcome of last year's Finals, his performance right through his last shot in 2016 was evidence.

Here

[PandaKidd]

Huge props to Kyrie for his performances after game 2. I was only able to catch games 6 and 7 after being on vacation during 3-5 and Kyrie looked great in both. The Cavs probably win game 7 comfortably if Lebron lets Kyrie handle the ball throughout the 4th and Kyrie. He really carried their offense in the games where Lebron struggled to hit the outside shot.

Props to you Jamaal, for sticking by Kyrie after those first 2 absymal games. It's crazy to see someone look so terrible in the first 2 games and then completely take over in the next 5 and Kyrie did just that.

We all kinda of become prisoners of the moment. Human nature. I dont fault you for the view on KI, because at times you are 1000% right about what he looks like.

The risk in a player like him is seeing him accept the challenge, get better, and climb to that next level. I feel like , for all his faults, he did that this past finals.

[ofm05]

Hopefully all these people who thought Teague was better then him will just go hide now. Not saying he can do this all the time, but Teague was never in the same league as him.

[Jamaaliver]

Stephen A Smith, in his NBA Finals breakdown, reiterates how Kyrie sized up, attacked, outplayed Steph Curry in the Finals whenever they were one-on-one. (Begins around 4:20 mark)


He states Curry played tentatively in big moments. While Kyrie, though at times reckless, was the aggressor regardless of who guarded him. But especially when guarded by Curry.

I think a lot of people are realizing that Curry isn't a particularly strong defender, either. He's a better team defender than Kyrie, without question. But his offensive skills have largely negated his defensive shortcomings in public perception.

[ATL Boy]

Now that that's been settled, lets officially let this thread die out.


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[TheOUTLAW]

This thread is pretty hilarious

[Pelly24]

LOL at this thread. All of this comparing Teague and Lowry to Kyrie was really cute back in 2014 to a month ago, but it was never close to being accurate. Kyrie is simply a superstar. He's like a LaMarcus Aldridge-level superstar. He's the sort of player that most teams in the Eastern Conference can't match offensively, and that's why they don't have a light at the end of the tunnel. There's a severe drought of legit all star/superstar talents in the Eastern Conference, and so people actually thought Teague and Korver were legit All Star talents because they fit into nice roles on already great teams. Playing defense and being a great passer are nice, but being able to get to wherever you want to on the court at anytime and score efficiently from anywhere on the court and torch the NBA's best defenses no matter what is much, much more valuable than being a heady, pass-first pg w. average scoring skills and awesome defense. Every, single time. A lot of you were just overthinking things. Go to basketballreference.com and check out the shooting percentages. Then go to YouTube and watch highlights and this won't happen again lol.

[HMFFL]

This thread is pretty hilarious

What is also hilarious is that Cleveland players needed some attention at the time Golden State was absorbing all of it. That's why articles related this topic came out and had been the center of attention for a couple of days.