Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 Ways Kyrie Irving Has Elevated His Game
Dec 29, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) brings the ball up court against the Boston Celtics during the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Kyrie Irving hasn’t only become the Cleveland Cavaliers closer. He’s been improving in different ways in his last several games.
Kyrie Irving has been out three straight games but was playing excellently before pulling his hamstring. In a seven-game stint of dominance, the Christmas Day victory over the Warriors being the median and climax.
While Irving can take over games in the clutch moments, he’s proved that he can play this well throughout the entirety of the game. His 115.7 offensive rating coupled with the 104.8 defensive rating has made him an invaluable asset for the Cavaliers. Both of those ratings rank in the top-five ratings on the team.
Throughout those seven games, Kyrie has played more than 40 minutes three times.
The Cavaliers, now 3.5 games above the Toronto Raptors for the top spot in the East, are being cautious. They will allow his hamstring tightness to heal before letting it develope into a strain or worse.
Even though Kyrie has been out for the past three games, it should be said that his numbers before his hiatus were among the NBA’s best. With that said, let’s take a deeper look into what has caused Irving to be unstoppable in these last seven games.
Dec 7, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) looks to pass around New York Knicks shooting guard Sasha Vujacic (18) and New York Knicks small forward Lance Thomas (42) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Irving Has Been Pass-First
In this seven-game stint, he has five double-doubles with points and assists. This is already an indicator of his greater focus on passing as he had one double-double all season before these games.
To give some background, Irving has averaged 6.0 assists per game and a 31.0 assist percentage. Therefore throughout the season the All-Star point guard assists on 31.0 percent of the Cavaliers possessions while he is on the floor.
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Those numbers have seen an incredible increase over the last seven games. He has had 70 assists, which is 10.0 per game exactly, meaning that Irving has been averaging a double-double throughout these games. Along with that, he has raised his assist percentage to 42.3 percent which is the best on the team.
While Kyrie has averaged slightly more turnovers than usual during the stint, he has counter-balanced that with the fact that he has a 3.63 assist/turnover ratio which is a tremendous improvement over his typical performance.
With all these together, it is obvious that Kyrie Irving has improved tremendously and that he should easily start being in top-5 point guard conversation. It has not just been Irving’s passing that has made his numbers spick; Irving has also been rebounding.
Dec 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (32) celebrates with guard Kyrie Irving (2) after dunking against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland defeats Golden State 109-108. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Kyrie Is Starting to Rebound Better
Some players have made their NBA stay on just consistent rebounding such as Reggie Evans and Tristan Thomspon. While most point guards do not rebound at high rates, it is nice to see Irving improving his.
While not as impressive as his passing stats, Irving has made a jump in rebounding over this short stint.
While Kyrie is not anywhere near Russell Westbrook’s numbers, he has improved his rebounding. In his last seven games, Kyrie has snagged either 5 or 6 rebounds in every game. Along with that, his rebounding percentages have improved. His OREB% is at 3.3 and his total REB% is sixth-best on the team at 8.0.
Still, Irving averages just a mere 3.6 rebounds per game and a dismal 5.7 REB%. Compared to his superb scoring numbers, these do not come close to comparing even among the NBA’s most mediocre point guards.
While an upgrade has been noticeable, Irving’s rebounding stats still leaves a lot to be desired for this 24-year-old superstar.
Dec 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) argue with referee Zach Zarba (15) during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Irving Is Becoming a Better Teammate
In an article by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, LeBron James was quoted saying this about Kyrie Irving:
“It’s the evolution and growth in my point guard,” LeBron James said. “He’s studying the game, he’s watching the game, and now he’s actually going out and playing the game. Just read and reacting, and just continues to get better every single day, every single month. And he’s showing that.”
Kyrie Irving has started to mature as not only a point guard but a player. His numbers continue to back up why he should be in the superstar discussion, and James just reassured us this.
Along with his rebounding numbers and assists numbers being high during this stint, Irving has not seen his scoring drop. His 23.8 points per game have been the sixteenth best of all the NBA within the last eight games. This has been an impressive stint from one of the NBA’s top point guards.
With a tough six-game road coming up that is capped off by a game at Golden State, the Cleveland Cavaliers might need some more of Kyrie Irving’s fantastic fanatics to stay atop the East.
