Kyrie Irving is now a...

[knowyourenemy]

How many games do you think Cleveland would win if you took LeBron off their roster and replaced him with a league-average forward? To give a concrete example, let's say Jae Crowder.

 

[tlance]

How many games do you think Cleveland would win if you took LeBron off their roster and replaced him with a league-average forward? To give a concrete example, let's say Jae Crowder.

45 wins and a first round playoff exit.

Take Curry off Golden State and replace him with Nobody, and Golden State is still a top 3 team.

 

[WiggyRuss]

45 wins and a first round playoff exit.

Take Curry off Golden State and replace him with Nobody, and Golden State is still a top 3 team.

i think you need an asterisk next to your prediction with a disclaimer that you have been unabashedly wrong and biased against the great Kyrie Irving in the past.

 

[tlance]

exactly

Curry scored what? like 20 points in overtime like a month before the Finals started? i mean gmafb.

He scored 20 points because he is the best shooter of all time. Still doesn't change the fact that he was nowhere near 100%. Just so happens that Curry at 65% is still pretty damn good. Just not good enough to beat Cleveland last year, or to outplay Kyrie Irving.

 

[tlance]

i think you need an asterisk next to your prediction with a disclaimer that you have been unabashedly wrong and biased against the great Kyrie Irving in the past.

I actually think I have been right on about Kyrie the whole way. He is a good player, but not a team leader and he is a guy who is difficult to play with. Without LeBron he has done nothing meaningful.

 

[Wamu]

Without LeBron he has done nothing meaningful.

I'm not defending Irving, don't care for players from dook. But you can't say he's done nothing meaningful w/o LeBron. He was a 2x AS before LeBron even returned to Cleveland.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I'm not defending Irving, don't care for players from dook. But you can't say he's done nothing meaningful w/o LeBron. He was a 2x AS before LeBron even returned to Cleveland.

the all stars under age 21 in NBA history

Shaq Diesel
The Big Ticket
Magic
The King
The Black Mamba
Isiah

and some guy named Kyrie....

END OF LIST.

not bad company...

 

[knowyourenemy]

45 wins and a first round playoff exit.

Take Curry off Golden State and replace him with Nobody, and Golden State is still a top 3 team.

I think you're being generous by predicting 45 wins and a playoff appearance.

 

[tlance]

I'm not defending Irving, don't care for players from dook. But you can't say he's done nothing meaningful w/o LeBron. He was a 2x AS before LeBron even returned to Cleveland.

Eh.

All star appearances are not meaningful, IMO. All star appearances go to the guys with the best offensive stats. Kyrie is a great scorer, so he will always get hyped. My beef with him is that he monopolizes the ball, plays poor defense, and does not create a ton of shots for teammates. Players like him get way overrated as to their actual impact on the game.

Now, Kyrie played solid defense in the Finals, so maybe he is improving there. If he changes on even one of those 3 issues he will be more tolerable to watch for me.

 

[Wamu]

Eh.

All star appearances are not meaningful, IMO. All star appearances go to the guys with the best offensive stats. Kyrie is a great scorer, so he will always get hyped. My beef with him is that he monopolizes the ball, plays poor defense, and does not create a ton of shots for teammates. Players like him get way overrated as to their actual impact on the game.

Now, Kyrie played solid defense in the Finals, so maybe he is improving there. If he changes on even one of those 3 issues he will be more tolerable to watch for me.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone say AS appearance are meaningless. Do you feel that way about all sports or just the NBA?

 

[tlance]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone say AS appearance are meaningless. Do you feel that way about all sports or just the NBA?

I should rephrase. They are not meaningless, but the criteria for being selected is based more on offensive skill than overall contribution. The event is a showcase. Players like Kyrie, Carmello and Harden are fun to watch, so they make the teams. Meanwhile, a two way player like Kris Middleton who produces just as much (maybe more) might make 1 or two appearances over his career, while Kyrie will make a dozen.

 

[WiggyRuss]

the all stars under age 21 in NBA history

Shaq Diesel
The Big Ticket
Magic
The King
The Black Mamba
Isiah

and some guy named Kyrie....

END OF LIST.

not bad company...

nawww totally irrelevant....

 

[Heatles84]

i think you need an asterisk next to your prediction with a disclaimer that you have been unabashedly wrong and biased against the great Kyrie Irving in the past.

You're right. Because we've seen what a Kyrie Irving led team looks like without Lebron - no playoffs.

 

[WiggyRuss]

You're right. Because we've seen what a Kyrie Irving led team looks like without Lebron - no playoffs.

can say the same thing about Anthony DAvis

or LeBorn his first 2 years in the league. Or DURant his first 2 years - or CP3 his first two years in the league.

 

[CitySushi]

can say the same thing about Anthony DAvis

or LeBorn his first 2 years in the league. Or DURant his first 2 years - or CP3 his first two years in the league.

Teammates are very important to the success of a team. But here's the thing, is Kyrie more vital to Lebron's success or is Lebron more vital to Kyrie's success? Kyrie might have an all-time great career, but this championship shouldn't be as highly touted as you are implying it is. Yes he was integral to the Cavs championship. No one is discarding that. But the way Steph got his championship and the way Kyrie got his are two totally different ways.

 

[Heatles84]

can say the same thing about Anthony DAvis

or LeBorn his first 2 years in the league. Or DURant his first 2 years - or CP3 his first two years in the league.

Anthony Davis took his team to the playoffs year before last. We're talking about the great Kyrie Irving though. 3 years in, his team wasn't even close to sniffing the playoffs. Honestly, I like Kyrie Irving as a player. Really exciting. But god, you make a lot of us want to talk him down. Think about that for a second.

 

[Black Adam]

I actually think I have been right on about Kyrie the whole way. He is a good player, but not a team leader and he is a guy who is difficult to play with. Without LeBron he has done nothing meaningful.

Lol how many times is THIS gonna need to be repeated...?

 

[tlance]

Lol how many times is THIS gonna need to be repeated...?

Don't know. Ask Wiggy?

 

[WiggyRuss]

Teammates are very important to the success of a team. But here's the thing, is Kyrie more vital to Lebron's success or is Lebron more vital to Kyrie's success? Kyrie might have an all-time great career, but this championship shouldn't be as highly touted as you are implying it is. Yes he was integral to the Cavs championship. No one is discarding that. But the way Steph got his championship and the way Kyrie got his are two totally different ways.

Totally agree- Steph is also 28 and in his prime.

Kyrie has a Long way to go to even get to his prime.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Don't know. Ask Wiggy?

as many times as you guys continue to underestimate THE Kyrie Irving.

better than John Wall, Damian Lillard, Derek Rose, etc...

RW, Curry, CP3- thats it- only PG's you take in front of Kyrie...and when you factor into how ridiculously team friendly his contract is- the guy is easily a top 10 guy youd want in the game.

Plus....how many guys have one of these on their resumes?


right in his eye...