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Kyrie Irving

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Ok, so let's try to keep this about Kyrie Irving rather than getting off-topic to the point of Max closing down the thread. With that said . . .

Kyrie looked great tonight. He definitely made some rookie mistakes tonight. He had three of his shots blocked, and it's because he went into the lane with nowhere to go. That's expected. He's testing the waters to see what will work and what won't in the NBA, and he will adjust accordingly. He definitely has some sick cross-over moves and sick handles, and they will only get better.

One thing I noticed is that Kyrie seems pretty out of shape right now. He needs to gain about 10 lbs of muscle and lose 10 lbs of fat this season, and that's just this season. He also doesn't seem as strong or athletic as he has been. I'll be excited when he's more in shape as the season progresses.

I loved that he had the ball in his hands a ton and that he's not afraid to take the game-winning shot. He definitely showed that he can score as well and get to the line. Again, this is another reason why he needs to get stronger--so he can draw more fouls because teams will be forced to foul him.

I really hope that he and Tristan get a lot more playing time as the season progresses. I wouldn't mind seeing he and Tristan work themselves up to 36 minutes a game. It would be good experience, and it would demand that they be in shape in order to handle the minutes. Also, the more minutes they get, the more of a chance both of them have at getting rookie of the year.

The offense looked horrible tonight in terms of working together as a team. No one was setting screens or anything. It was offense on the fly and practically every man for himself. I hope that this doesn't last.
 
I liked how Irving was giving more effort on defense starting in the first half. He didn't wait until after halftime this time around. Glad to see that he pushed the pace on offense pretty consistently.

Not surprised he was tired coming down the stretch and may have shot too much, but also impressed that he tried to take the reins as a leader.

Another very encouraging performance.
 
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I love how composed he is in this type of game for a 19 year old kid. He didn't get rattled tonight, and made some nice moves down the stretch of the 4th quarter and had a couple big buckets. Of course his game winner, as we all know, rolled off the rim. I love how he attacks, but can also hit the jumper if they sag off of him, which he took a couple jumpers late that were good shots, but just off the mark. I think fatigue had a little to do with him missing jumpers late because his jumper early looked good. Very impressed with Kyrie so far, keep it up rook! Go Cavs
 
There was a possession during the final stages of regulation or OT (forgot exactly when) where Irving bodied up on George Hill, stood his ground on the drive, and cleanly forced him out of bounds. That's definite progress there, and very encouraging to see.
 
Once he's played 10-15 games he will be in NBA shape to hit his jumper and have legs for the end of games. Put him on an offseason workout plan and he comes back next season looking like John Wall and is tearing his opponent apart on a consistent bases. I really think he missed that layup and couldn't hit on his jumper because he had heavy legs and arms at the end of the game. He's the real deal like Holyfield.
 
I wonder how many lefty lay-ups he does next time hes got a basketball around him...

But so far, so good. He looks quick and has some range. Hes getting better and better in transition as the games go by. His decision-making will need to improve and think some of that will come with the guys learning how to play with one another out there. I think its telling that he had the ball in his hands at the end of game. I think I'll buy League Pass this year just to see how he progresses
 
Its uncanny how similar his game looks to Chris Paul when he first entered the league. If guys stopped fumbling passes and started hitting wide open shits, the kid would be at 8-10apg right now.

Based on a tiny sample size, the sky appears to be the limit for a kid that isn't much older than LeBron was when he entered the league. As he plays, make sure not to forget just how young he is. As he makes mistakes out there and bricks a couple shots OTD, remember he's doing what he's doing ten years away from his prime.

I couldn't care less about what anyone says, the "Kyrie MIGHT be a solid all-star but not a superstar," talk is only true if the kid plateaus at 24. The potential is there to be whatever he chooses to be, assuming health.
 
Once he's played 10-15 games he will be in NBA shape to hit his jumper and have legs for the end of games. Put him on an offseason workout plan and he comes back next season looking like John Wall and is tearing his opponent apart on a consistent bases. I really think he missed that layup and couldn't hit on his jumper because he had heavy legs and arms at the end of the game. He's the real deal like Holyfield.
I think this i a little too optimistic, though it also depends on exactly how many minutes he's playing in those games.

With the fast paced schedule, limited time for rest, and limited time for additional conditioning I'm not really expecting him to be in true "NBA shape" for a few months, if at all this year. Which is fine, so long as he lives in the gym in the off-season.
 
He looked much better on D, and was giving a lot of effort out there. He stayed with Collison pretty well, and that dude is fast.
 
He looked much better on D, and was giving a lot of effort out there. He stayed with Collison pretty well, and that dude is fast.
Yes, the team as a whole looked pretty good defensively, but especially Irving.
 
Its uncanny how similar his game looks to Chris Paul when he first entered the league. If guys stopped fumbling passes and started hitting wide open shits, the kid would be at 8-10apg right now.

Based on a tiny sample size, the sky appears to be the limit for a kid that isn't much older than LeBron was when he entered the league. As he plays, make sure not to forget just how young he is. As he makes mistakes out there and bricks a couple shots OTD, remember he's doing what he's doing ten years away from his prime.

I couldn't care less about what anyone says, the "Kyrie MIGHT be a solid all-star but not a superstar," talk is only true if the kid plateaus at 24. The potential is there to be whatever he chooses to be, assuming health.

He'll be a superstar by 24.

As for is conditioning, wasn't there a story during the lockout that he was resting his toe still so it would finish healing, pretty much that he rushed things playing for duke in the playoffs. Conditioning is an issue right now, we pretty clearly win last night if he's in full NBA game shape. Perhaps it'll take a while to get where he really should be, but I do think we'll see some rapid improvement in his conditioning over the next couple of weeks.

And this is another reason having a quality backup like sessions is so valuable right now. Keep Kyrie in the 25 minute per game range while his conditioning improves then one he's finishing games strong slowly increase his minutes.
 
Loved what I saw from him last night. He has all the moves there and has that natural speed and agility attacking the rim. Better effort on D as well.

Imagine, what he's doing now he's doing in pretty awful physical shape compared to what he will be physically as a finished product. Over the season his conditioning will improve drastically in comparison to most other rookies.

We usually see young guys hitting the rookie wall around a third of the way through the season. Well, with Irving, we may just see the opposite due to how out of shape he is now compared to how he will be at the end of the season.
 
I've seen improvements every game he's played so far ... He'll be one of the top PG's in the league two years from today..
 
Dare I say he looks like a bigger Isiah Thomas?

That's who he plays like. He attacks the rim more than Chris Paul. But I always knew that. He has surprised me with with his passing acumen. I thought he was a much better scorer than he was passer coming into the season. Not saying he couldn't pass, just that his ability to put the ball in the hoop was what he did best. Looks to me he's an equal passer as he is scorer. Nice. I'm impressed.
 
Its uncanny how similar his game looks to Chris Paul when he first entered the league. If guys stopped fumbling passes and started hitting wide open shits, the kid would be at 8-10apg right now.

If I can hit them sitting down, these NBA guys should be able to do much, much more. Hell, I hit one THIS MORNING without anyone around.

;)
 
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