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Following the super depressing news that Kyrie Irving suffered a fractured kneecap in the Cavs’ loss to the Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday, Cleveland fans around the globe expressed their support for the injured point guard who will be forced to miss the remainder of the Finals and will need at least 3-4 months to fully recover.
Irving reached out to his fans today via Instagram to show his appreciation for their support:
“I want to thank everyone for the well wishes. Saddened by the way I had to go out but it doesn’t take away from being apart of a special playoff run with my brothers. Truly means a lot for all the support and love. I Gave it everything I had and have no regrets. I love this game no matter what and I’ll be back soon. To my brothers: You already know what the deal is. And to Delly: “ICE it down del” *Big Perk voice *”
Before going down, Irving did everything in his power to give the Cavs a boost during his NBA Finals debut: diving for loose balls, blocking shots, and just generally filling up the box score with 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. Ultimately, however, it was all for naught as the Warriors’ all-around depth proved insurmountable.
After practice earlier this week, coach David Blatt admitted that Irving still wasn’t quite himself yet, but on Wednesday, Irving told reporters that he would ‘will himself’ to play despite not feeling 100 percent. Now, folks in Irving’s camp – including his father and his agent – are questioning the wisdom of pressuring him to play on a bum knee considering the long-term implications it could have on his career.
The Cavs will now be forced to turn to Matthew Dellavedova and hope that he can harness some of that frantic energy to at least try and disrupt the Warriors’ deadly back-court duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Of course, that means they’ll have to remember not to leave him stranded at the hotel when the bus leaves for Oracle Arena.
Regardless, if Cleveland doesn’t get any help from the rest of their supporting cast – namely J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert – and continues to devolve into the 2007 Cavs’ team that stood around and watched LeBron James go one-on-five for 48 minutes, the outcome of this series is a foregone conclusion.
