Kyrie Irving

[Chris]

You're looking at it too narrowly

It's not just about numbers. If Kyrie develops into an elite floor general(he has the potential to be Chris Paul-esque) along with how good of a scorer he is, well, let's just say things won't be pretty for the rest of the league in 5 or so years.

At this point I am not worried about Irving at all. He could literally only improve marginally (at least offensively and in his actual PG skills) and I'd still be absolutely thrilled with that player.

It's the rest of the team I am worried about. Waiters has me cautiously optimistic, but the front court is abysmal as is the bench. Lots of work to be done, but Irving is a nice piece we don't really have to worry about at this point. Just unleash him and watch him go.

[shoes22]

Some more Kobe from the AP Recap.

This is a really interesting perspective shift from Kobe, I think. In Kobe's prime, he was a one-man wrecking crew like MJ that despised virtually everyone on the court. The fact that Irving has so much respect from Kobe at such a young age isn't just a recognition of Kyrie's crazy talent, it signifies a major attitude shift from Kobe as well. Kobe realizes he only has a few more years left in him, so he doesn't see Kyrie in the same light as LeBron, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, etc...guys he couldn't show respect to because he wanted to dominate them and prove he was the best in the league.

With Kyrie, Kobe is almost admitting that Irving is going to represent the future of this league, and Kobe almost seems like a mentor to him, trying to make sure he plays the game the right way. Those two have a really interesting relationship, to be sure.

[AuxiliaryPie]

This is a really interesting perspective shift from Kobe, I think. In Kobe's prime, he was a one-man wrecking crew like MJ that despised virtually everyone on the court. The fact that Irving has so much respect from Kobe at such a young age isn't just a recognition of Kyrie's crazy talent, it signifies a major attitude shift from Kobe as well. Kobe realizes he only has a few more years left in him, so he doesn't see Kyrie in the same light as LeBron, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, etc...guys he couldn't show respect to because he wanted to dominate them and prove he was the best in the league.

With Kyrie, Kobe is almost admitting that Irving is going to represent the future of this league, and Kobe almost seems like a mentor to him, trying to make sure he plays the game the right way. Those two have a really interesting relationship, to be sure.

Kobe as assistant coach to the cavs in a few years?

[ArchieBunker7]

I gotta say, I thought KI's overall offensive game was fantastic in the first half last night. He was getting the guys the ball where they wanted it, and at advantageous times as well. I think sitting may have done him a little good this time around.

Now, he leveled off a bit in the third, but so did the rest of the team. It was a great way to come back. Stay healthy, kid, cuz this team is much more watchable when you're around.

[shoes22]

Does anyone else find it a weird coincidence that the moment Kyrie comes back, our bench instantly goes back to being awful? It seems like guys like Pargo need at least 20 minutes on the floor to get any kind of production out of them. It's also suspicious that we make CJ a starter, and all of a sudden he has a breakout game.

[Jon]

I'm not sure I want Kobe in Kyrie's ear. Kobe took over for the Lakers tonight, and they lost again.

But unlike Jordan and Kobe, Kyrie is a full time PG. He can't be moved off the ball to let the rest of the team have their turn. He's going to have to find a balance between running the offense and getting his own, and as the team improves, he may have to sacrifice scoring much like Magic did to make sure his teammates stayed involved and got their numbers.

Heck, few scorers in the last decade have been more efficient than Steve Nash - his career average is nearly 50/40/90 (just .009 off in FG%), and he pounds the crap out of the ball ... but yet he constantly passes up shots to create for his teammates.

Times change, rules change, so Kyrie doesn't necessarily have to model himself after any one player ... but he will have to find his own balance to be successful and not just that guy who scores 40pts on an amazing floor game while his team loses. Hopefully Kobe brought that point home last night.

[MGMT]

The stream I was watching last night was with the local LA announcers. There was a moment where Irving was handling the ball exotically. The commentator said "Kyrie is dribbling as if the ball has a string tied to his hand." What a witty fellow.

[narbar32]

Kobe's legacy has finally reached the extent of his ego, I see, though certainly the transformation from many-say-he'll-be-a-legend to NBA sainthood didn't happen overnight.

But all this reverence for Kobe -- who I somehow now like after years of hating -- and his soundbites is a tad silly. The sort of underlying tone that ponders if Kobe has "chosen" Kyrie, or sees the force in him or whatever, is likewise goofy. And Kobe's suddenly elder statesman-esque revisit to the "glory days" when he first got in the league is cool on the one hand, but a little bit selective and convenient on the other. Sure, in this current WWF-flavored conniving faction-based and player run NBA, it's definitely cool to talk about the days when the alphas just wanted to be alphas and destroy whoever was in their way, but Kobe was one of the most vocal whiny bitches crying out for help and threatening to demand a trade after he drove away his big meal ticket and the Lakers floundered. Still, though, Kobe does seem to genuinely hate everybody, despite the former whining, and I really like that.

Anyways, Kobe's sparkly essence isn't going to get all up in Kyrie's business and cause him to forget he has teammates. When Kyrie forgets he has teammates, it's because of Kyrie, not Kobe, along with the reality that his current teammates are mostly so forgettable.

And Kyrie isn't going to hate everybody like in the old days of short shorts and long pubes. He still plays in today's NBA and the kid is best fucking friends with every Tom, Dick, and Harold Miner in the neighborhood. I'm really happy when I see him rise to the occasion against a superstar opponent, holding his own and then some, and show out with such a competitive drive, but Lebron did the same shit (Battles with Wade; Talking shit to Arenas at the line?! That's cold!) and Lebron's the posterboy for the new bromancing the bone in the NBA, not a throwback to the days of the killers.

I like that Kobe likes Kyrie, that they have some back and forth, and certainly that Kobe, maybe a top 5 player of all time when he hangs them up, is showing some respect for Kyrie's game. That's really great. But I don't know that it means anything more than what it is.

[3 Da Hard Way]

[Lee]

Really?

He's averaging more than 20 points a game on nasty shooting %s.

What exactly is his ceiling? How much "better" is he going to get? Defensively, he has ways to go, but offensively? This dude is as polished as I've seen in a long ass time. It's amazing. Absolutely incredible. I don't see how much better he's really going to get on that side of the ball. What's he going to do? Shoot 65% from the field and hit on 100% of his FTs while dropping 30/10/7 a night?

Right now he is more of a shoot first pg. His ceiling is getting his assist numbers way up and playing way better defense. I agree he is not near his ceiling yet. He needs to give performances like last night on a nightly basis. The good news is that it is coming.

[MoneyMP3]

That move Kyrie does at 45 sec is sick. Made me yell out loud when he nailed it.

[NIkeL]

His best shot is not there. I loved the high bank shot he made.

[The Human Q-Tip]

I posted at halftime. I thought he tired a bit in the 2nd half. I thought he had a good first half defensively, especially compared to what we saw at the start of the season (and after the long layoff). But the whole team looked a lot better in the first half.

I agree, and I think the physical effort and endurance required to play defense at a high level is really overlooked. Great offensive players who all capable of also playing great defense -- MJ, Kobe, LBJ -- couldn't do it all for extended stretches. They'd clamp down defensively in key situations, but they didn't play balls to the wall defense every minute they were on the court because of the effort they expended on the offensive end.

The burden of running our offense rests almost entirely on Kyrie, which means he's expending serious energy out there on the offensive end. So he takes it easier on the defensive end, and it shows. But if the other guys on the court (whoever they may eventually be) step up to take some of that burden off him, and as he physically matures and gets better endurance, there is every reason to believe that his defense will improve significantly as well.

[Czvosec]

His best shot is not there. I loved the high bank shot he made.

That shot was.... there are no words for that shot. Maybe the most impressive shot I've ever seen him take/make. The degree of difficulty on that shot was astounding, and he banked it ON PURPOSE. Defended, off the dribble, from a nigh impossible angle, and placing perfectly on the backboard? Lord have mercy...

The kid understands the nuances and geometry of scoring so well, and at such a young age. Its a gift, really.

And you can tell his overall floor game is catching up. He made several plays in that first half that I hadn't seen him make all of last year that were legitimate floor general plays. Seriously, the sky is the limit.

Now, if we could just get him to fix his PnR defense...

[Jon]

The burden of running our offense rests almost entirely on Kyrie, which means he's expending serious energy out there on the offensive end. So he takes it easier on the defensive end, and it shows. But if the other guys on the court (whoever they may eventually be) step up to take some of that burden off him, and as he physically matures and gets better endurance, there is every reason to believe that his defense will improve significantly as well.

Having not played in weeks, he did great. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to build up his endurance this season - and then we can see how he uses it.

The advantage Kyrie has over guys like MJ/Kobe/LBJ is he's not pushing as much mass up and down the court. He should be able to sustain a higher energy level.