What’s Wrong With LeBron James And The Cleveland Cavaliers?
3. Irving’s Struggles
Safe to say the Cavs would probably prefer if Kevin Love were the second option among Cleveland’s Big Three on the offensive end rather than Kyrie Irving. Well, as long as we’re talking about the 2015-16 version of Kyrie Irving, who has largely been a massive disappointment since returning from a kneecap injury in December.
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In 46 games this season, Irving is averaging 19.4 points, 4.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting a miserable 30.9 percent from downtown — the lowest numbers of his career/since his rookie season in every case. He’s still shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, but his horrible three-point efficiency is even worse when you realize he’s chucking 4.8 of them per game.
Irving is still a dynamic ball handler and supernova scorer when he’s feeling it, but those nights have been few and far between, especially under the microscope of his career low 4.5 assists per game. Factor in his consistently awful defense and there’s no denying how disappointing this season has been for the fifth year point guard.
There’s no question that his injury-proneness has played a part in these struggles, but that’s also a cause for concern with the playoffs looming. Will he be able to make it through a full postseason after what happened in last year’s Finals? In any case, Irving is already 24 years old and still hasn’t ascended to superstar status the way we all thought he would.
Next: No. 2