Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving Injured, Out Until April?

It didn’t look like much.  In fact, it looked far worse for Blake Griffin than it did for Kyrie Irving.  The two collided as Griffin tried to receive a pass while driving the lane.  The ball was deflected and bounced into Blake’s face.

Initially, there wasn’t even a grimace on the face of Irving … and then he left the court holding his arm.  Shortly after this, it was announced that Kyrie had suffered an injury to his left bicep and would not be returning to the game, and after the game he was seen leaving the arena with his arm in a sling.

The good news is that the season isn’t over for Kyrie Irving, but the bad news is that missing two weeks (left bicep strain) might be enough to end the season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.  They simply cannot afford to lose their top player for any length of time as every single game matters.

With just 15 games remaining on the season the Cavaliers are currently sitting 4.5 games outside of the playoffs and are frantically trying to make a push.  This injury could cause Kyrie to miss nine games and effectively push the Cavaliers further from the playoff picture.  It may even be possible that Irving has played his last game on the season as the Cavs could decide to shut him down if the playoffs are already a distant dream.

Irving leads the Cavaliers in minutes per game (35.5) and is responsible for 31.6 percent of the team’s assists.  He also carries with him a 28.2 percent usage rate, having taken more than 400 more shots than his next closest teammate (Dion Waiters).

The brief glimmer of a playoff hope that the Cavaliers had just two days ago, has all but disappeared with a healthy Kyrie Irving.