Kyrie Irving

[sammyvine]

i hope he doest turn into a kevin love and produce empty stats

for as good as he has played, the cavs have one of the worst records in the league.

that said he is only 20. i will give him a couple of years to see if he can be a legit franchise players like rose or cp3

[godfather]

Kevin Love is on a terrible team. Basketball is a team sport. There are four other players on the floor. One guy can't do it all.

Rose's team is still floating above .500. It's not fair to do that to Kyrie, when it's obvious guys like Rose, Rondo, CP3, all have much better teams surrounding him.

We have to hit big time this draft. I am not sure Waiters will be anything but a decent player. I really don't like Waiters that much to be frank. I know he's young, I know he needs time. I just don't see anything that stands out in his game. He's not that explosive, inconsistent shooter, and just has an absolutely HORRIBLE feel for the game. He's just OKAY to me. I don't even think he's a starter at all going forward. I'll give him more time before I judge the pick, but so far, I just don't see anything that good about him.

Tristan is finally looking to at least be a quality role player at least. But the way this team looks like now, I fear we'll be the Cleveland Kyrie's. They got to hit home in this draft on a big time impact player.

[Czvosec]

Kevin Love is on a terrible team. Basketball is a team sport. There are four other players on the floor. One guy can't do it all.

Rose's team is still floating above .500. It's not fair to do that to Kyrie, when it's obvious guys like Rose, Rondo, CP3, all have much better teams surrounding him.

We have to hit big time this draft. I am not sure Waiters will be anything but a decent player. I really don't like Waiters that much to be frank. I know he's young, I know he needs time. I just don't see anything that stands out in his game. He's not that explosive, inconsistent shooter, and just has an absolutely HORRIBLE feel for the game. He's just OKAY to me. I don't even think he's a starter at all going forward. I'll give him more time before I judge the pick, but so far, I just don't see anything that good about him.

Tristan is finally looking to at least be a quality role player at least. But the way this team looks like now, I fear we'll be the Cleveland Kyrie's. They got to hit home in this draft on a big time impact player.

I wouldn't call the Wolves a terrible team. They've had a ton of injuries, yet they're still just a game back of Houston for that 6th spot. Minnesota is pretty solid.

[mhi]

David Thorpe's The top 20 second-year players
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...d-year-players

The Superstar
1. Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers

There is Irving and there is everyone else. This class didn't look like it would produce many stars when it entered the NBA, and because Irving played only 11 games in college because of injury, there was doubt that even the top pick was going to be special. Pretty quickly, though, Irving proved that he was going to be very good, then he proved to be even better than that.

Recently, we wrote about (and discussed on TrueHoop TV) the different types of elite point guards in this league, and Irving was mentioned as the player with an incredible skills game -- he ranks amongst the league's best as both a ballhandler and shooter, while doing the same as a shotmaker/scorer. He's basically an offensive machine who is matched by few of his peers.

Put it another way: If he had the athleticism of Russell Westbrook or Derek Rose, Irving would be right up there with LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the running for the "World's Best" title. As it is, he's clearly someone who can compete for an MVP award once his franchise catches up to him and surrounds him with better and more experienced talent.

Irving's the only one in the superstar category. And in case you were wondering TT didn't make the cut.

[Jack Brickman]

David Thorpe's The top 20 second-year players
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...d-year-players

Irving's the only one in the superstar category. And in case you were wondering TT didn't make the cut.

How in the world was Thompson not on that list? He's playing better than most of the guys Thorpe listed right now.

[jonzee330]

How in the world was Thompson not on that list? He's playing better than most of the guys Thorpe listed right now.

He did...

7. Tristan Thompson, Cavaliers
If you have followed the careers of J.J. Hickson, JaVale McGee and DeAndre Jordan, you can better understand why some people, including myself and the Cavs' brass, are still so high on TT. He is just now learning how to read the game, and he's averaging almost a double-double (9.2 points, 8.5 rebounds a game). Thompson is also a good defender who shows potential to be great. He still struggles with finishing, because he's not taking his time to explode and he's always been weak. But as he gets stronger, he'll be able to muscle his way through contact, and thus be able to slow down and gather sometimes before finishing.

[Jack Brickman]

My bad. I scrolled through the article but completely failed to see Thompson's name. Ugh.

[mhi]

My bad. I scrolled through the article but completely failed to see Thompson's name. Ugh.

Me too, did he just plug him in after the fact or something ?

EDIT: Actually I think that's exactly what happened, because the pictures for "best of the rest" were also added post-publication.

[Jack Brickman]

Me too, did he just plug him in after the fact or something ?

I think he might have. Glad someone else can confirm that.

Edit: Looking through the comments, Thompson was definitely added in after. Several comments complained about his absence.

[mhi]

I think he might have. Glad someone else can confirm that.

Edit: Looking through the comments, Thompson was definitely added in after. Several comments complained about his absence.

Yep. He has this to say:

coachthorpe: No one forgot about Thompson, I just scratched one "Thompson" off my final list and forgot I had written about two. He is well deserving of his ranking-sorry if my mistake made anyone think otherwise.

[shoes22]

Irving has no nerves. I've never seen a more composed player in crunch time.

[Rob]

KILLA

[AuxiliaryPie]

PG version of Kobe

[Gimme Some Mo]

If you don't trap Kyrie in that last shot situation, you're dead.

How can you not trap him with the shit we have surrounding him? You really think Alonzo Gee or Tristan Thompson are going to make a game winning shot? Bad coaching, but I love it.

Guy is already one of the most clutch players in the game.

[Lottery God]

PG version of Kobe

Kyrie's got a Kobe Bryant-esque long and midrange game (but will always be a more efficient) with the rest of his game being more Isiah Thomas driven. It's like someone literally fused the two players together. Kyrie's even right in between the two in terms of size.

I was happy with Kyrie's defensive effort tonight. He looked like he gave a fuck. In fact, he gave several fucks. 3 blocks and 4 steals is solid. I have confidence he'll be a decent defender by the end of the season and acceptable defense for his career. He may not have elite physical tools (good size and strength, but lacking elite athleticism), but he has the drive and basketball IQ to become a great defender. I'll say once again that Kyrie's conditioning will play a role in how good he can become defensively (and overall).