I’ll admit that I’ve been critical of Kyrie Irving over the past few years, but I’ll say that Irving is a special player when is locked in. Since his 55 point game against the Portland Trailblazers, Irving has been a man possessed. Irving has been often criticized for over-dribbling, and displaying the lack of “point guard” qualities while running the show in Cleveland. Last night in a road game against the San Antonio Spurs, Irving went off for a franchise high, and career high 57 points. Irving went 7-7 from the three-point land and he made Tony Parker and the rest of the Spurs defense look incompetent. For the first time in a long time, LeBron James wasn’t the most dynamic player on the court.
Irving sliced and diced in the paint all night long, and it gave the Cavs the confidence that they can play with any team on any given night. Irving’s performance was important his sake as well as for LeBron James. In the past, James never really had a counterpart to attack the Spurs defense as Irving did in his two finals losses to the Spurs. No disrespect to Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, but Irving brings a different element that’s hard to defend for 48 minutes. I always believe that LeBron can will his way and beat any team in a seven game series, but when it comes to the Spurs it has to be more than a one-man show. If the Spurs meet up with the Cavs in the NBA Finals, he knows that Kyrie Irving is there to have his back as well as the other players in Cleveland such as Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Timofey Mosgov, Tristan Thompson, and a host of other players.
Irving may not be the traditional point guard that many expect and want him to be, but he is special when he is in Uncle Drew mode. Last night’s performance only proves that Irving is hitting his stride as well as the Cavs at the right time of the season. Earlier in the season the critics were giving the Cavs an earful, but lately things have been quiet. It may sound cliché’, but winning does cure-all. Now that the Cavs are the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference they are in perfect position to skate through the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Cavs have enough veteran leadership, where they do not need home court advantage to win playoff series. Many pundits will point and say that Irving doesn’t have any big game experience, which is true, but last night’s game was as intense as it gets and it had a playoff atmosphere to the game.
Cavs fans should be gushing with excitement as the playoffs are nearing. If Kyrie Irving continues to morph into Uncle Drew and continue to be a huge help to LeBron James , the Cavs may finally get to hoist up the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season.
