Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The assumption is having LeBron James on the team automatically gives the Cleveland Cavaliers an advantage in the NBA Finals. However, after what we witnessed Thursday night, that might not be the case.
James’ 44 points was enough to get the Cavaliers to overtime, but it was not enough to secure the win against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1. With Kyrie Irving dealing with a knee injury, it is safe to say Cleveland is all but done with their point guard unlikely to play going forward.
Irving will undergo an MRI on Friday to find out the extent of the damage to his left knee. The bad news is he was seen leaving the Oracle arena on crutches after he fell to the ground while driving to the basket in overtime. As if it could not get any worse, Irving was in clear pain, which does not bode well for the injury. Not to mention, he does not appear confident his knee will allow him to continue to play.
“You can hear in the tone of my voice that I’m a little worried,” Irving said after the 108-100 overtime loss, according to ESPN. “I just want to make sure everything is OK, and I’m going to take the necessary steps to see what’s going on.”
James accounted for 44 percent of the Cavaliers’ point total while Irving was good for 23 percent. Even with Irving playing quality basketball throughout Game 1, Cleveland was still unable to stop Golden State’s solid team effort of scoring. That essentially proves the Cavaliers are in a bad situation if Irving is unable to suit up for Game 2 and beyond, unless someone else on Cleveland plans to step up.
Irving’s outstanding performance may have come at a cost that could have been avoided if he did not play 44 minutes, which ties the most minutes he has played in a single game during the playoffs. It would be completely unfair to link the minute total to being the reason why he got hurt. With that said, it is not unrealistic to believe that it played a critical role.
The Cavaliers will be looking for a different outcome on Sunday in Game 2.
Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
