Kyrie Irving‘s knee isn’t getting any better, and it may force him to miss Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks. Irving is listed as questionable and didn’t participate in this morning’s shootaround, according to ESPN‘s Brian Windhorst. But the most troubling part of Windhorst’s report is that Irving’s knee still hasn’t improved.
Despite treatment on an off day Thursday, Irving’s knee had not improved by Friday morning and the Cavs decided to send him for more evaluation.
Irving had an MRI on his knee, but the results haven’t been released.
After LeBron James, Irving is Cleveland’s sole source of individual, consistent offense. J.R. Smith is mercurial, and he could follow up his terrific Game 1 performance with another hot shooting night as easily as he could follow it up with a 3-for-25 clunker. Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert are fine complementary pieces, but their offense is nowhere near Irving’s level.
Irving was hobbled against the Bulls, but he was still able to contribute. In Game 1 against the Hawks, despite scoring 10 points and dishing six assists, Irving couldn’t even finish the game and was getting torched consistently by whomever he was guarding. As much as the Cavaliers need Irving’s offense, he won’t be of much help on either end of the floor if he can’t move.
(ESPN)
