Unlike his teammate Iman Shumpert, who returned with a bang on Friday for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving still has yet to make his season debut after his patellar injury required surgery over the summer. But he is so close he can taste it, which is becoming a source of tension, according to Cavs beat reporter Chris Haynes.
Haynes wrote for Cleveland.com on Monday about Irving, “Mentally and physically, he’s ready to play.” And yet Cavs head coach David Blatt announced that the star point guard would still miss at least the team’s next game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night — and Haynes thinks that he might miss Thursday’s contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well. Those are big games against two of the hottest teams in the NBA, and Irving is justifiably raring to go after nearly a full week of practicing.
At this point, the Cavaliers are being extra-super-duper-careful with Kyrie, not ready to take the training wheels off even as their kid hurtles up and down the driveway, begging to go out into the street. But after the way their team seemed to disintegrate as they moved through the playoffs last season, it’s hard to blame them.
Irving’s complaints will disappear the second he finally gets out there, but it’s still a little silly to act like an extra couple of games here automatically means he’ll last longer in the playoffs. Soon, they’re just going to have to put him out there and cross their fingers, like every other team does.
(Via Cleveland.com)
