Kyrie Irving

[Pioneer10]

By my eyes theres not even many above average defenders at PG. Rondo, Beverly, Paul, Rose, Westbrook, probably missed more but hey. There's not a lot from what I see.

Guys are just too good and fast nowadays

Bledsoe is a terrific PG defender. Rubio is also excellent particularly as a team defender. Smart is going to be one of the best. There are definitely good PG defenders out there

The bigger issue is that there are so many damn good offensive PG's and we don't have the rim protectors to erase mistakes easiler. We're not going to be as bad as that awful Mo Williams/Shaq combination, particularly if AV's wheels don't fall off but damn I'm scared going up against guys like Parker, Westbrook, and possibly even Rose. Chicago's SF's don't worry me so we can move Lebron over to Rose but in a Finals match are we really going to let Lebron off guys like Durant and Leonard?

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I never expect Kyrie to even be an average defender at this point but we have a roster that can possibly cover for him. Waiters (assuming he continues to improve on that end, specifically his off the ball defense)and LBJ can both cover the other teams better perimeter players in the post-season and allow Blatt to hide Kyrie on weaker players. No need to do this in the regular season and wear LBJ down though.

That reminds me of the late 80's- early 90's Cavs. We'd go into a playoff series against the Bulls believing that we had a chance to beat MJ, and one matchup advantage we always counted on was Price at PG.

Then it would get to crunch time, the Bulls would pull a shift and stick MJ on Price, and we were screwed.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Chicago's SF's don't worry me so we can move Lebron over to Rose but in a Finals match are we really going to let Lebron off guys like Durant and Leonard?

Well, maybe that's where the Matrix may earn his ring.

 

[Kbiz]

Not buying Kyrie's "greatly improved defense". He is trying harder, but he is not fundamentally sound. The guy who looks much better on D is Kevin Love. He is better than I thought he would be. He is putting in effort and is doing work early to establish position. Kyrie is reaching for steals.

Love still lazily rotates defensively at times. Perhaps its just pre-season but it's definitely noticeable. He has let guys blow by him for an easy layup on more than one occasion these past games. However, that seems to happen every game with one of our players. I am going to chalk it up to still learning the system.

KI looked pretty good defensively during the FIBA games, granted that was against pretty mediocre competition. He has shown much better defensive posture then he ever has. With his quickness and vision, he should be able to stay in front of most PG's. Rose is simply one of a kind. While driving, he cradles the ball better than any PG in the league. His first step is truly ELITE, top 3 in NBA elite.

Curious how Dion would fare against these types of match ups? He is much thicker then KI and if he played physically (the right way...no ticky-tack reach in fouls), maybe he'd fare better than KI in certain matchups.

 

[Los216]

How can they rank John Wall better than Kyrie but only 3 spots better than he was last year?

 

[#21]

Kyrie added a new move to his arsenal this offseason; the 25 ft banked skyhook:

 

[Omar The Horse]

He's getting whatever he wants on the offensive side tonight against one of the better defensive teams in the league without LeBron.

 

[DatDudeZ3]

One word tonight: Filthy

Just about dropped Calathes on that step back J

 

[Bandwagoner305]

I'm calling it now. Kyrie will lead the Cavs in PPG and FGA again this year.

 

[Zen]

I'm calling it now. Kyrie will lead the Cavs in PPG and FGA again this year.

I'm not saying it's impossible. But, for Kyrie to average more PPG than Lebron would be pretty monumental. I don't see it happening.

Realistically Lebron would have to drop to something like 22ppg while kyrie boosted to 23.

 

[Crosby_Cavs]

I'm calling it now. Kyrie will lead the Cavs in PPG and FGA again this year.

If he will lead us in PPG, sorry but we are screwed. He needs share ball more all I want from him and some defence

 

[calleger]

Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers: Irving's "down year" in 2013-14 still saw him post 20.8 points, 6.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game and win All-Star Game MVP. Still, it was a season filled with uncorrected bad habits and simmering locker room tension. Consider the slate wiped completely clean by the arrivals of LeBron James and Kevin Love, setting Irving up for what should be a memorable and highlight-filled fourth season and his first postseason appearance.

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/10/22/all-redemption-team-roy-hibbert-josh-smith-jrue-holiday

 

[Kbiz]

Irving has looked elite the last two games, top 3 PG elite IMO. I have no idea what is ceiling is at this point but he easily could lead our team in scoring this year, especially if Lebron is looking to fill more of a Magic role, which would suit our team best considering he possesses the best court vision.

I still get frustrated by Irving's hero ball but it is hard to argue with when it yields results and it will be a HUGE asset to us during tough playoff series. Two guys that perform in crunch time...sign me up! Irving has been top 10 in the league in 4th quarter scoring almost his whole career. 4th quarters are going to be a joy to watch this year.

 

[pinoycavsfan]

kyrie's scoring is great but it freezes out his teammates when he goes hero ball for a quarter. would love to see more point-guard play from him at this point of his career because we all know he can score. hubie observed several missed opportunities for kyrie to pass the ball to his teammates; one with the waiters back door play and a kevin love cut in a semi-break situation.

highlights are great but we need kyrie to be a facilitator more this season.

 

[elcheato]

If he will lead us in PPG, sorry but we are screwed. He needs share ball more all I want from him and some defence

Why would the Cavs be screwed? Part of the advantage of having LeBron on your team is that you don't need a traditional point guard, as LeBron is basically your point guard at that point. He's a better facilitator and passer than Kyrie too. Kyrie is the exact guy you want at the point with LeBron with his shooting talent and ability to beat anyone off the dribble, as the defense is going to focus on LeBron more than Kyrie. If we have LeBron on the team and someone else is scoring more than him, I'd call that a good thing