denial wrote:
Most concerning: Irving and the Cavs were outscored by 8 points per 100 possessions this season without James on the court, a night-and-day difference from the 9 points per 100 plays they outscored opponents by when Irving played with James. Over the past three seasons, Irving and his teammates have been outscored by 94 points over almost 2,000 minutes when James is resting,7 according to NBA.com. The challenge may be rooted in the fact that Irving’s preferred 1-on-1 style of offense fits with James’s — who can take occasional breathers while his teammate goes to work — but throws his teammates out of rhythm when James is off the floor
Paraphrase: "the Cavs are much better with LeBron and without LeBron they would lose a lot more games. LeBron James is better than Kyrie Irving"... Um, yeah.
This doesn't reflect negative on Kyrie. It just means Lebron is really good.
I'm not saying we should or we should not go after Kyrie. But the idea that he isn't good because the Cavs need Lebron is silly.
Actually, I think lebrons attitude in general.is probably just a drag and I bet Kyrie thrives without him
I was thinking just the same thing. Pulling team stats from when Lebron is in the game compared to when he's not is just ****. Thats a reflection on Lebron and not Irving. I'd like to see the stats on the point difference from when Irving is in the game, to when he's not. Even then, that doesnt mean much and just speaks on how well the team plays with the replacement player. Who was Lebrons replacement at SF when he sat? James Jones. No wonder they were outscored by 8 points per 100 possessions when James sat!
To use those kind of numbers to insinuate that Irving cant play on a different team and be effective is just lame and a bit of a cop out. I remember a time that people thought Harden wouldnt be able to do anything on his own team, then BLAM superstar! Even more recently, i remember people saying that harden couldnt play the point because he is a SG and this and that, but BLAM success!
Truth is, NOBODY knows what Irving can or cant do next season running the point without Lebron. Never the less that every team is different with different players and different systems. Theres just too many variables to be able to predict what can or cant happen.
You just grab the best players you can and hope that everything can work itself out for the best in the end, and thats why im more than fine going after Irving......at the right price.
