CavsHomer
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Kyrie Irving
- Thread starter wuck
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Cavsengland
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Andrew
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Anyone else kinda iffy with how much he drives into the paint in this USA bball round? I just hope he keeps getting right back up. Put the breaks on every once in awhile, even if you stop every once in awhile you are still better than the opponent.
shoes22
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That's just how Kyrie plays, and that's how he has always played. His game has always been to use his craftiness and skill to get by any defender. No one can stop him, so he might as well keep doing what works.
Huber.
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Gotta give the bandwagon time to catch up
Andrew
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Reminds me of a young Wade, it eventually took its toll on his knees so he had to become a smarter and craftier player.
Bob_The_Cat
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The huge difference is that Wade (much like Rose) relied so much on his explosive athleticism to beat defenders. One of Rose's injuries was because his knee couldn't handle the sheer force of him jumping.
Kyrie has plenty of athleticism, but he relies a lot more on feel than explosion. He just knows how to slip through lanes and find ways to get the ball on the rim. You rarely see Kyrie out of control as he drives through the paint.
Bandwagoner305
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I like the way Irving is playing as well. He's already making the type of adjustments that he'll need to make playing alongside LeBron and Love. He's controlling the offense well and he's not forcing shots. I think he now knows what he'll have to do and the type of sacrifices that he'll have to make more so than LeBron and Love will in order to run an efficient and well-balanced offense. I know Kyrie has a lot of fans on here who'd want to see him dominate on the offensive end next year, but the Cavs won't need him to be that guy anymore and his impact didn't translated to team success. His FGA will obviously take a big dip, but if he plays his role like he's doing on Team USA, then his efficiency and assists will increase.
rome8180
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The other difference is that Kyrie can shoot.
Jack Brickman
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Kyrie barely relies on his athleticism at all when he plays. He relies on his handles to create space, and that's something you don't just lose as you get older. He is also a great shooter, which will also serve to give him a longer career than guys like Wade and Rose who rely on their athleticism so much. Elite shooters are always in demand, even in their mid to late thirties.
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Amin Elhassan has some interesting analysis on Kyrie on ESPN today--
Revisiting my Kyrie prediction
Can Cavs' point guard become NBA's best at the position by 2015?
Two years ago, I wrote that Kyrie Irving would be the NBA's best point guard by 2015. I felt the combination of his incredible skill level and exceptional poise set him apart, particularly at his age, and this opinion was shared by other scouts around the league.
While we still have a season to go before that prediction can ultimately be confirmed or disproved, the past two years have not exactly followed the upward trajectory we expected of Irving back in 2012. What went right and what went wrong? Here's a look at whether Irving can complete his ascension to prominence.
What went right
My scouting report on Irving wasn't that far off. Some excerpts from the piece written in 2012:
"His timing is impeccable, and he delivers one-handed pocket bounce passes with the ease and accuracy of a wily veteran. Not only does he make all the right reads out of the pick-and-roll, but he also knows how to create new opportunities after initial action has stagnated."
Irving does not disappoint as a passer; he's able to squeeze passes through tight spaces and make less-than-obvious reads that make it difficult for defenses to play the passing lanes. Despite the large amount of time spent with the ball in his hand and the high assist rates he posts, Irving remarkably does not turn the ball over often. In fact, he had the second-lowest turnover percentage of any player with an assist percentage greater than 30 percent, behind only Mike Conley and just ahead of Chris Paul.
"Irving excels going either direction, using either hand and going off either foot...He is an excellent perimeter shooter, shooting at above 40 percent from 3-point land in his NBA career. His in-between game has improved tremendously, and he actually attempts a fair amount of left-handed runners and floaters, which will one day make him that much harder to guard. He finishes at the rim through contact, but is also extremely aware of baseline cutters."
Again, he's continued to show the ability to operate ambidextrously, which keeps defenders off-balance. Although his 3-point shooting percentage took a dip last year, he's still a deadly shooter, particularly against opponents who choose to go under on pick-and-rolls. The in-between game is still a work in progress, but he continues to show improvement.
What went "wrong"
It's no secret that Irving's biggest downside thus far has been his lack of fervor on the defensive end:
"Irving will often 'conserve' energy on the defensive end. He is overly reliant on help defense when guarding the ball, often taking a liberal interpretation of 'send him to the help' with an open stance that not only allows but encourages blow-bys."
Two years later, he's not just conserving energy on defense, he's practically a spokesperson for Greenpeace! His effort, attention to detail and execution all leave a lot to be desired, and opponents often will try to scheme him into iso situations on an island to take advantage of his liabilities as a defender.
Also, and as expected, the revolving door of inferior talent in Cleveland has had a negative effect on Irving's development.
"... his scoring ability [and the lack of other viable offensive options on the Cavs] force him to look for his shot more aggressively, which can manifest itself in sub-par shot selection."
If anything, Irving has devolved in this category; despite continuing to post stellar assist rates, he is a conservative passer -- not in pass types, but in attempts. The lack of trust in his teammates can sometimes be painful, and it also manifests itself in questionable shot selection. Irving's medium-range jumpers (particularly from long 2-point range) have taken an increasing share of his shot totals, and they often come under the duress of defensive pressure.
Some of the blame can be placed at the feet of an unimaginative offense that relied too heavily on Irving creating out of pick-and-roll with subpar spacing options and little to no movement on the weakside, but again, the expectation is for an elite player to be able to remain disciplined through that kind of adversity.
Rest of article available at:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/stor...nba?ex_cid=InsiderTwitter_elhassanKyriebestPG
Revisiting my Kyrie prediction
Can Cavs' point guard become NBA's best at the position by 2015?
Two years ago, I wrote that Kyrie Irving would be the NBA's best point guard by 2015. I felt the combination of his incredible skill level and exceptional poise set him apart, particularly at his age, and this opinion was shared by other scouts around the league.
While we still have a season to go before that prediction can ultimately be confirmed or disproved, the past two years have not exactly followed the upward trajectory we expected of Irving back in 2012. What went right and what went wrong? Here's a look at whether Irving can complete his ascension to prominence.
What went right
My scouting report on Irving wasn't that far off. Some excerpts from the piece written in 2012:
"His timing is impeccable, and he delivers one-handed pocket bounce passes with the ease and accuracy of a wily veteran. Not only does he make all the right reads out of the pick-and-roll, but he also knows how to create new opportunities after initial action has stagnated."
Irving does not disappoint as a passer; he's able to squeeze passes through tight spaces and make less-than-obvious reads that make it difficult for defenses to play the passing lanes. Despite the large amount of time spent with the ball in his hand and the high assist rates he posts, Irving remarkably does not turn the ball over often. In fact, he had the second-lowest turnover percentage of any player with an assist percentage greater than 30 percent, behind only Mike Conley and just ahead of Chris Paul.
"Irving excels going either direction, using either hand and going off either foot...He is an excellent perimeter shooter, shooting at above 40 percent from 3-point land in his NBA career. His in-between game has improved tremendously, and he actually attempts a fair amount of left-handed runners and floaters, which will one day make him that much harder to guard. He finishes at the rim through contact, but is also extremely aware of baseline cutters."
Again, he's continued to show the ability to operate ambidextrously, which keeps defenders off-balance. Although his 3-point shooting percentage took a dip last year, he's still a deadly shooter, particularly against opponents who choose to go under on pick-and-rolls. The in-between game is still a work in progress, but he continues to show improvement.
What went "wrong"
It's no secret that Irving's biggest downside thus far has been his lack of fervor on the defensive end:
"Irving will often 'conserve' energy on the defensive end. He is overly reliant on help defense when guarding the ball, often taking a liberal interpretation of 'send him to the help' with an open stance that not only allows but encourages blow-bys."
Two years later, he's not just conserving energy on defense, he's practically a spokesperson for Greenpeace! His effort, attention to detail and execution all leave a lot to be desired, and opponents often will try to scheme him into iso situations on an island to take advantage of his liabilities as a defender.
Also, and as expected, the revolving door of inferior talent in Cleveland has had a negative effect on Irving's development.
"... his scoring ability [and the lack of other viable offensive options on the Cavs] force him to look for his shot more aggressively, which can manifest itself in sub-par shot selection."
If anything, Irving has devolved in this category; despite continuing to post stellar assist rates, he is a conservative passer -- not in pass types, but in attempts. The lack of trust in his teammates can sometimes be painful, and it also manifests itself in questionable shot selection. Irving's medium-range jumpers (particularly from long 2-point range) have taken an increasing share of his shot totals, and they often come under the duress of defensive pressure.
Some of the blame can be placed at the feet of an unimaginative offense that relied too heavily on Irving creating out of pick-and-roll with subpar spacing options and little to no movement on the weakside, but again, the expectation is for an elite player to be able to remain disciplined through that kind of adversity.
Rest of article available at:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/stor...nba?ex_cid=InsiderTwitter_elhassanKyriebestPG
gratefuldead
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when anthony davis has been interviewed it sounds like kyrie and him are close, he respects kyre..they're clearly the two best young players on the team. we know all to well when players get together on USAB they can talk about the future. 3-4 years from now if the pelicans dont get it together, kyrie has a few rings, lebron is in the tim duncan role, love is still in his prime.... i saw these pics from nba today...im happy about this little bromance
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