The Silver Lining of the Loss
December 19, 201112 Days of a Cleveland Christmas: Day 8
December 19, 2011
It’s only been seven quarters of high-level pick-up basketball, but rookie point guard Kyrie Irving is already giving Cleveland a reason to be excited about the upcoming compressed NBA season.
During Friday night’s preseason bout in front of approximately 27 Pistons fans in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Irving came off of the bench for the Wine and Gold, but finished the contest with a team-high 21 points. While his shot selection and handful of turnovers were that of a 19-year-old getting his first taste of NBA action, his willingness to be aggressive attack the rim led to 15 visits to the charity stripe in just 26 minutes of play. The kid also added two steals, one of which ocurred less than two minutes after he had checked in and led to foul in transition and two of his 15 free throw attempts.
As an encore, in front of a home crowd during the team’s three-quarter scrimmage on Sunday afternoon, the first-overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft finished with 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Irving also had the key to Lob City, tossing three alley-oop passes which were appropriately slammed home by his teammates and adding in a gentle dunk of his own.
“Great team win for us,” Irving tweeted followig the 91-87 win over the Pistons. “[A] learning process everyting single game for my team and me.”
A learning process, indeed. While many had expected the Cavaliers to retain point guard Baron Davis to help mentor the rookie point guard, the team felt that head coach Byron Scott would ultimately be the best mentor. Coming off of the bench behind Ramon Sessions – also an aggressive, quick player – early on will only help the transition between a collegiate career which was hampered by a foot injury to the NBA where he will be asked to carry teammates on his back for the foreseeable future.
“I really don’t have this attitude where I need to start or feel like I should start,” Irving told the media on Thursday afternoon. “I feel like my play will dictate that and as we continue to grow through training camp, hopefully I’ll be a starter. If not, I’ll come off of the bench and give my teammates my energy off of the bench.”
Even if Irving continues to come off of the bench, something that would not be anticipated to last long into the season, he is providing the Cavaliers and their fans with the most versatile point guard since the days of Terrell Brandon. Some already consider him to have the best mid-range game on the team, bettered in distance by only Daniel Gibson and Omri Casspi. Criticized for his speed, especially when compared to last season’s first-round selection John Wall, Irving was quick to show fellow rookie Brandon Knight that quickness isn’t just measured in timed a 40-yard dash. And while he may not be anywhere near the All-NBA skill level of a Derrick Rose, Irving’s willingness to take contact and get to the free throw line to help his team on a night where the jump shot merely wasn’t falling speaks volumes. Though it may not be represented in the box score, the composure and confidence is already present.
Irving is bound to have his ups and downs. For all of the praise the aforementioned Wall received early in his rookie season, he also missed a handful of games due to injury and provided 22 contests where he amassed at least five turnovers, frequently venturing into the sevens and eights. He’s bound to miss a game-winner; the inevitable 3-for-15 night will leave some fans scratching their heads. But in the end, Irving will be the main piece of the puzzle which Byron Scott and Chris Grant have been tasked with putting back together. His high-level of play, especially when considering that he is merely 19 years of age, coupled with his all-around pleasant personality and never-fading smile will finally give Cavalier fans a reason to hope.
We are talking about a kid growing up in a landscape of egos, fellow NBA players looking to build their own Mount Rushmores merely replicating their own face four times over, who passed up the opporunity to receive considerable endorsements via the channels of LRMR and Creative Artists Agency and chose his agent due to his beliefs surrounding philanthropy and community service; his agent Jeff Wechsler’s pitch involved the Best Buddies program and the power of giving back. Never getting tangled in the web of agents providing funds at a collegiate level, not willing to be bought by slideshows signifying Hollywood glam; a stark contrast compared to what the Cavaliers front office endured with it’s last first-overall pick.
No one knows what the 2011-12 season holds in terms of a win-loss record for the Cavaliers. But with a season of transition long in the rear view and Irving officially in tow, it’s safe to say that the Wine and Gold is finally taking steps in the right direction.
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(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
8 Comments
Please avoid the temptation to paint this kid as the anti-LeBron; it’s not fair to him or us. We don’t know him or what he will become in the next 5 years. He’s a kid. Just like the other guy, he’s been treated as a diety since he was an early teen and all that inevitably implies as far as feelings of entitlement, and he was the first overall pick.
He may be fine, he may not be. But he just stepped off campus a week ago and we have zero idea. Can’t we just enjoy watching him play without the wishful thinking puff piece? He’s an athlete, not a hero.
Agree Harv,
And in terms of actualy play, I think he will be a better distributor than the above mentioned Wall and Rose. Those guys seem to be more of the score first variety.
“deity”
another multitask spelling/grammar tragedy. This pesky job sometimes does a number on my WFNY experience.
Irving hasn’t proven anything about his ability to run the offense and distribute the ball. Unfortunately, he is being coached by a former shoot-first guard (I’d feel so much better if a young Lenny Wilken’s was Irving’s coach), and he’s already the team’s best perimeter scorer by far. The likelihood that he will develop bad habits is pretty high.
I wish the Cavs had acquired a high-volume shooter/scorer for the 2 guard spot for Irving’s first year, to get him used to setting up his teammates rather than worrying about his own scoring. Marcus Thorton would have been great, but even an O.J. Mayo or John Salmon’s-type could work.
Irving’s best chance to really lead this Cavs team is as a Billups-in-Detroit (or, dreaming, an Isiah Thomas type), a guy who can play with another dynamic scoring on the wing without worrying about shots. I hope that he and the Cavs know that, and don’t try to turn him into a Devin Harris/Rodney Stuckey type.
@5K – John Wall averaged 8.3ast/game in his rookie year. That is pretty good distribution (7th in the NBA)
Root for the team, not the player.
just being argumentative
mike just to counterpoint, Irving is also surrounded by guys whose strengths are moving without the ball, and using athleticism over basketball talent. Andy is really magnificent at finding creases when a defense rotates to someone driving, and if you are going to get anything out of Eyenga, Thompson, or Caspi its going to be in the same way. I would say the likelihood that he develops good habits is just as true.
And remember that Byron was a “shoot first” guard because he played shooting guard, that was his job, its not like he was going AI and popping 30 shots from the 1 spot.
harv, I think it is relevant that he made a decision not to sign with LRMR. The kid seems to be making a conscious effort to portray an image of substance over style. I totally agree about not putting him on a pedastal, but I don’t think its puff to say; “Good job by you Irving, showing up talking about team, rather than showing off a brand new “Chancellor of the Handchequer”” tattoo (can I double quotation mark?”
random Cavs tattoo trivia: What word did Derek Anderson have famously mispelled as a tattoo? (its a gimmee but it makes me smile?
@porkchop: you’re kind of making my point. Portraying an image is just that, marketing, rather than substance. Color me disinterested about whether his sought after image is “substance.” Over the course of his contract we’ll get a better idea of whether he’s an admirable centerpiece for the franchise. Today he’s 19 and payng people plenty to market him. My point was that nothing he’s done after a single exhibition game deserves a puff piece, more like wishful thinking.
And don’t double quote, internal quotes within a quote are set off by single quotation marks – ” ‘…..’ ” Now you’re in my sweet spot.