You hear all the time that the NBA is a brotherhood, and individual players can be pretty clannish when it comes to sticking up for their teammates. It’s how all sorts of scuffles get started in the heat of action. That’s what happened on Friday night in the opening quarter of the Cavs’ game against the Sixers.
During one early sequence when Philly had possession of the ball, Justin Anderson appeared to shove LeBron James to the ground. Following a missed shot, Anderson got the offensive rebound, so Kyrie Irving proceeded to retaliate by pushing him out of bounds.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/847964870565933056
It was a move that earned Irving the first flagrant foul of his career. It’s admirable that Uncle Drew would want to defend his big brother, but LeBron is also 6’8 and 250 pounds and therefore perfectly capable of handling himself. Cooler heads would prevail, however, and things de-escalated quickly.
But the trash talk didn’t exactly end there. Midway through the third quarter, with the Cavs leading 88-61, D-League call-up Shawn Long got loose for a two-handed flush, then followed it up with a primal scream. Irving was quick to redirect his attention to the scoreboard.
*Volume up* for this Kyrie commentary 💀 pic.twitter.com/tyIFtemm2Y
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 1, 2017
It’s clear there’s a certain amount of frustration at play with the Cavs as their recent struggles have cost them the No. 1 seed in the East and have many wondering whether they’re ready to defend their title this spring. A little sharper of an edge might be just the ticket to get them back on track.
