Cleveland

[trojanfan12]

Irving needed good teammates just like any other player...he was the 2nd best player out on the court for both teams in the finals after lebron

What does that have to do with calling someone on a 24-58 team clutch?

I guess Steph had a bunch of all stars on his 23 win team, right?

Also, considering how much tougher the West has been...I'd say that 23 wins playing out of the Western Conference is better than 24 playing out of the East.

 

[Hambombs]

What does that have to do with calling someone on a 24-58 team clutch?

I guess Steph had a bunch of all stars on his 23 win team, right?

Also, considering how much tougher the West has been...I'd say that 23 wins playing out of the Western Conference is better than 24 playing out of the East.

Agreed

 

[lebron23james]

What does that have to do with calling someone on a 24-58 team clutch?

I guess Steph had a bunch of all stars on his 23 win team, right?

Also, considering how much tougher the West has been...I'd say that 23 wins playing out of the Western Conference is better than 24 playing out of the East.

Why do u have to be on a good team to be clutch, I don't get it

 

[trojanfan12]

Why do u have to be on a good team to be clutch, I don't get it

Because on a good team you actually get opportunities to be clutch. How "clutch" is a shot for a 24 win team?

It's not like there's playoff seeding or division titles on the line. It's much easier to hit a "clutch" shot when there's nothing riding on it.

D'Angelo Russell hit a couple of game winners last year and hit another one in the summer league. It's great that he'll take that shot. But I'll be much more impressed if he takes them/comes up big when the Lakers are actually good and there's something bigger on the line than 1 of 17 wins for the year.

 

[tlance]

I will say I am not sure what kyrie was doing during that play he drove the ball, maybe 2 for 1? But he also had the assist on the finals shot james was fouled on so he scored the final 3 and had the clutch assist

2 for 1 when you are up 3?

Any well coached JV basketball player knows not to do that. When you are up 3, you run clock and try to get a shot toward the end of the shot clock. You don't rush a shot to get a 2 for 1. That only serves to extend the game that you are already winning.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Why do u have to be on a good team to be clutch, I don't get it

Analyzing Irving's Unbelievable Ascent

Kyrie already has a ridiculous amount of game winning shots in his career. Hes the minimamba....not 5 guys in the league id rather have take the last shot....especially considering how unpredictable he is....Kyrie is a very good 3 point shooter, has a great midrange game and can finish at the basket among the best in the league.

Its why last year you had guys like Nik Batum and Kawhi Leonard get 3's dotted in their eyes at the end of games....you cant guard up on him or he will go by you- you cant guard back on him or he will drain the 3 in your face....there are not many in the league that can do both on the level that Kyrie can...

he had that one streak where he had crazy late shots against dallas, nuggets, celtics all close i think in his 2nd year...it was nuts.

 

[WiggyRuss]

this one doesnt even have the dallas and denver ones

 

[lebron23james]

2 for 1 when you are up 3?

Any well coached JV basketball player knows not to do that. When you are up 3, you run clock and try to get a shot toward the end of the shot clock. You don't rush a shot to get a 2 for 1. That only serves to extend the game that you are already winning.

Maybe he thought he had a clean layup, u always take the points over burning time, I would have to see the play again

 

[lebron23james]

this one doesnt even have the dallas and denver ones

Irving has ice water in his veins...he tore apart westbrick in that game winner lol

 

[WiggyRuss]

Maybe he thought he had a clean layup, u always take the points over burning time, I would have to see the play again

yah...i remember that early on by Kyrie and why he became such a well regarded player so freaking fast...he had game winners against the Celtics, Mavericks, Nuggets, all very very early....i honestly think he had like 6-7 game winners his first 2 years i nthe league when he was like a 175 lbs kid that looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over...

you could tell then that this kid wanted the ball and would not be afraid to take the last shot....those games against San Antonio and Portland last year were just insane too- especially how he finished them.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Irving has ice water in his veins...he tore apart westbrick in that game winner lol

yah...that OKC won was a crazy one...the toronto one was pretty awesome too how he just walks it up...

2 of the best though are watching the highlights from the Portland and SAS games...to put up 57 on Pop in his house and tie the game with a shot in Leonards face is just unreal......in a game Love was shitting his pants and LeBron sat out he single handedly showed Damian Lillard and hte Blazers what was up in that 55 point game.....Batum is on him- and doesnt know whether to stay back or stay up on him- he decides to stay back thinking his 7 foot reach is good- big mistake.

toronto game winner was nasty...

 

[WiggyRuss]

id love to hear the 5 guys youd rather have take a shot down 1 with 7 seconds left in the game today....simply doesnt exist.

 

[tlance]

id love to hear the 5 guys youd rather have take a shot down 1 with 7 seconds left in the game today....simply doesnt exist.

Not saying that there are 5. I have maintained all along that Kyrie is one of, if not the best one on one scorers in the league (I believe KD is 1 an Irving 2). The problem is that you guys are horribly overrating him as an overall player. LeBron makes the Cavs a good team. Without him, they are Rockets East.

Maybe Irving will be an MVP candidate one day, but so was James Harden. MVP is 98% about offense, and even then fixated on 1 aspect of offense: scoring. There are many players in the league better than Kyrie.

 

[gordontrue]

Kyrie made a clutch shot, then almost made the worst play in the history of basketball, when, up 3 with plenty of time on the shot clock, he drove out of control under the Warriors basket and got caught up. Lucky for him, he was able to get the ball to a teammate.

That was a horrible decision that could have given the ball back to Golden State with a chance to tie. Nobody talks about that play because he didn't turn it over, but only because the basketball gods were with him. It was a horrible play.

A truly clutch player would have handled that situation better. Kyrie lost his damn mind for a second.

Agree with this post... except the bolded parts which are over the top, imo.

Having watched the last 2 minutes of Game 7 many times , I can say that it was definitely an "oh crap wtf are you doing" moment that made every Cavs fan's heart stop until the ball was safely in Kevin Love's hands.

Bottom line, though... he didn't turn it over. He made a mistake for sure... but he recovered from it well. Kyrie's aggressiveness in the last minute was a good thing.

Right after that play.... with 8-9 seconds on the shot clock... Kyrie started driving to the basket and JVG was yelling "They're going too early!"... but then he made the beautiful dish to LeBron who was able to give them a 2 possession lead.

Sometimes being overly intent on dribbling out the clock vs taking what's in front of you makes things worse. If Kyrie pounds the ball and misses a jumper as the shot clock expires... the Warriors have 5+ seconds to tie the game with a 3.

 

[Shanemansj13]

this one doesnt even have the dallas and denver ones

That's exactly why Lebron said what he said about Kyrie being the guy on this team eventually. He just needed to mature and get some valuable playoff experience and it is crazy to think that he had a great Finals in only his first Finals. I said it last year that eventually Kyrie will be a superstar, you just watch the guy play and he has the intangibles. The main things I worried about were his defense and his experience/maturity. If think both those things have improved just over this last year.
Kyrie is further along right now than I have seen a ton of great players in the league and this kid ice water in his veins. It is amazing how good he is with his left, incredible.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Kyrie made a clutch shot, then almost made the worst play in the history of basketball, when, up 3 with plenty of time on the shot clock, he drove out of control under the Warriors basket and got caught up. Lucky for him, he was able to get the ball to a teammate.

That was a horrible decision that could have given the ball back to Golden State with a chance to tie. Nobody talks about that play because he didn't turn it over, but only because the basketball gods were with him. It was a horrible play.

A truly clutch player would have handled that situation better. Kyrie lost his damn mind for a second.

I don't really get this, yes...ok almost lol. It was a bad decision but that is like saying he almost missed the shot. And the worst play of the history of basketball...cmon

And nobody talks about that play bc he got the ball back. It almost deflected off of him out of bounds but he gained possession and tip-toed the sidelines then kicked it out to a teammate. Truly clutch?? Not really sure what that means but I saw Kyrie being clutch like he has been his whole career. This isn't just a one time thing, but this is his most clutch shot being in the biggest moment of his career. He is one of the most clutch players in the NBA right now.

 

[tlance]

I don't really get this, yes...ok almost lol. It was a bad decision but that is like saying he almost missed the shot. And the worst play of the history of basketball...cmon

And nobody talks about that play bc he got the ball back. It almost deflected off of him out of bounds but he gained possession and tip-toed the sidelines then kicked it out to a teammate. Truly clutch?? Not really sure what that means but I saw Kyrie being clutch like he has been his whole career. This isn't just a one time thing, but this is his most clutch shot being in the biggest moment of his career. He is one of the most clutch players in the NBA right now.

No it isn't. A shot either goes in or it doesn't. Kyrie made a horrible decision to attack the basket. There is no arguing that. It turned out okay, but that does not change the fact it was a terrible decision.

Yes, I maintain it would have been one of the worst plays in basketball history if Golden State had gotten the ball back (which they should have) and tied the game. That is two ifs that did not happen, but had it gone down differently and the Warriors came back to win, it would surely be on the short list of worst plays. That was a spectacularly awful decision.