Cavs’ title hopes take major hit as Irving su≠ers broken kneecap
OAKLAND, Calif. — The chance for the 2015 NBA Finals to be a memorable classic that is discussed for years to come may have come to an end when Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving attempted a hesitation move on a drive and collapsed to the hardwood at Oracle Arena on Thursday night.
A healthy or even semi-healthy Irving — paired with a more-determined-than-ever LeBron James — was the Cavaliers’ best chance of pushing the Golden State Warriors the distance, or perhaps even completing an upset that would end 51 years of misery for a cham- pionship-starved town.
But the extension of Cleveland’s title drought seems like a mere formality after the Cavaliers announced Friday that Irving suffered a fractured left kneecap during his team’s riveting 108-100 overtime loss in Game 1. Irving had been nursing tendinitis in the same knee for several weeks, taken games and parts of practices off, met with orthopedist James Andrews for treatment plans and worked diligently to make sure he was there to aide James in his defiant quest to deliver for Cleveland. The latest diagnosis will force Irving to have surgery in
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In Irving’s absence, Cavs again turn to Dellavedova
Cleveland, and he is expected to be sidelined for three to four months.
“Saddened by the way I had to go out but it doesn’t take away from being a part of a special playoff run with my brothers,” Irving posted on Instagram shortly after the results of his MRI exam were made public. “I gave it everything I had and have no regrets. I love this game no matter what and I’ll be back soon.”
Before his knee buckled on that ill-fated drive around the Warriors’ Klay Thompson — causing him to crumple and agonizingly limp to the locker room in that devastating extra frame — Irving was giving the Cavaliers more than anyone could have expected under the circumstances. Irving outscored league Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry through regulation, 23-22, and added seven rebounds and six assists. He also had four steals and two blocks, which isn’t bad for a player with a reputation for relaxing on the defensive end.
He even gave the Cavaliers a chance to win the game in the final seconds when he chased down Curry to block a layup that could have put the Warriors ahead by two points with 24 seconds remaining.
James missed a fallaway jumper, and Iman Shumpert rushed a follow jumper that could have ended the game in regulation and allowed Irving to end his evening as a hero who played valiantly and pushed the Cavaliers to their first-ever Finals victory.
“It’s a little disappointing, a little frustrating, ’cause just coming in, I felt amazing,” Irving said after the game.
In overtime, the Cavaliers didn’t score in Irving’s time on the floor, and only a late layup by James prevented the team from getting shut out in Irving’s absence. The Warriors took advantage of Irving’s stumble, ending the sequence with a crushing 3-pointer that was even more hurtful because Cleveland’s second-best player wasn’t going to return to fix it.
The Cavaliers will again replace Irving with Matthew Dellavedova, who has already led the team to two wins without Irving in the conference finals against Atlanta and helped them close out Chicago when Irving was unable to go in the second half of the second-round series clincher.
“I’ll just be prepared for whatever the team needs,” Dellavedova said.
The Cavaliers also possess at their disposal the greatest weapon to respond to adversity in James — an extra-strength roll of human duct tape, capable of masking flaws or exposing new strengths with his versatility and ability to inspire lesser talents. This postseason has been a constant reminder of James’s depths of determination in leading the Cavaliers into the NBA Finals despite losing Kevin Love in the first round and having a diminished Irving hobbling around since the second round.
“There are a few things that you would love to have going late in the season. That’s being healthy, having a great rhythm, and then you need a little luck as well,” James said. “We haven’t had much luck, and we haven’t been healthy. But I haven’t gotten discouraged. I’m excited to be in this moment once again, and I’m going to stay strong for my team, no matter who is or is not in the lineup.”
The Warriors, however, aren’t the Boston Celtics — a team that wasn’t ready for the playoffs — or a Bulls team that had already turned on its coach — or a Hawks team that was losing healthy scoring options every game. Golden State is a special team that has survived the most-injury plagued of seasons without any major setbacks (the Warriors also welcomed back Marreese Speights, the one player they lost for considerable time this postseason, for this round).
The Warriors have also already withstood the sublime talents of Anthony Davis, contained Memphis’ front-line duo of All-NBA first-team center Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph and survived MVP runner-up James Harden.
James scored 44 points Thursday night, his most in 28 career NBA Finals games, and carried the Cavaliers’ offense whether or not Irving was around to attract attention. Irving had been used as a decoy and hidden on defense against Chicago and Atlanta, but he didn’t hold back in his first Finals game.
With the Warriors expecting a slightly diminished player, Irving was anything but as he flashed his trademark ball-handling skills and high-degree-of-difficulty layups. He intercepted a pass from Golden State’s Draymond Green and ripped up court for a lefty layup, hit a few circus shots with Thompson hounding him and appeared to have crossed the mental hurdles that held him back in previous series.
“As far as how we prepare, we’ve been through this. We’ve played games without Kevin, without Kyrie. We know how we want to play when they’re not in there,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. “From that standpoint, we can prepare.”