James is the king, but Irving is next in line
25-year-old is sure to rule Cleveland when LeBron chooses to relinquish his throne
If there was ever any doubt about who stands first in line when King LeBron James eventually abdicates his throne in Cleveland, it was settled for good in Game 3 of the NBA Finals and hammered home with an exclamation mark in Game 4.
James remains ruler of all things Cavaliers, but at 32 and with a million miles of basketball on his surely tiring legs, the day will arrive where he’s ready to call it a career.
When that time comes, Kyrie Irving figures to be the obvious choice to take over as the alpha dog on a Cavaliers team that has been reliant on James for 10 of the past 14 seasons.
Irving is, as much as James — or perhaps even more — a reason why the Cavs are suddenly back in their series against the Golden State Warriors after losing the first three games.
While James’ productivity has been consistent from Game 1, it’s the improved play of Irving that has given the Cavs a glimmer of hope after their Game 4 victory.
Over the first two games in Oakland — both lopsided wins for the Warriors — Irving was merely average. Klay Thompson hounded him relentlessly when the Cavs were on offence and he was forced to chase the seemingly indefatigable Steph Curry when the Cavs were defending.
Irving managed 24 and 19 points respectively in those first two losses to Golden State, but he wasn’t the dominant guard people have come to expect.
When the series shifted to Ohio, with the raucous fan base behind him and the Cavs, Irving found his game again.
The 25-year-old had 38 points in a Game 3 that the Cavs let get away with a poor fourth quarter. With their backs to the wall, he dropped 40 points in a resounding Game 4 effort.
Irving has shown a knack for coming up biggest when the margin for error is the slimmest.
“He’s just been very special in close-out games,” James said of his heir apparent. “On both sides — us being able to close out a team trying to close out on us. He’s just been built for that moment.
“I said that over and over again, that he’s always been built for the biggest moments, and (in Game 4) he showed that once again. It’s not surprising. He’s just that special.”
For his part, Irving said he simply needed to get acclimated to dealing with the Warriors before he started firing on all cylinders.
“The team that settled in the quickest was going to be successful the quickest,” Irving said. “They settled in extremely fast.
“They adapted to the physicality, they brought the intensity, they had all the focus and finally, in Game 4, we broke down a little bit of the door, a little bit of getting that monkey off our back of having the pressure just solely be on us.”
James said Irving ’s game is all about attacking the rim with zero hesitation.
“We love how aggressive Kyrie’s been, and it’s been great for our team, obviously, with his individual ability to make shots and to take big shots and to knock them down,” James said.
“That’s been key for our team all year, and for the rest of us, we have to do everything else. We have to defend, rebound, set screens for him. We have to get him looks when he’s got it going. So we hopefully can continue that.’’
The Warriors have focused much of their game on limiting Irving.
“The ones where he’s in space and has time to knife through the defence, get in the paint, those are what you try to take away,” Curry said. “He’s made a lot of contested shots. He’s gotten to the basket a little too much for our liking.
“I think for the most part, you have to live with some of the shots, because he has the ball in his hands a lot and he’s such a clever creator of space and he’s a tough shotmaker in certain situations. You don’t want to let him toe up on the three-point line. That’s another adjustment we’re looking to make from Game 4.”