NBA Rumors: How Kyrie Irving's Return from Injury Tonight Will Assist Cavaliers

Kyrie Irving has not played in a game since suffering a concussion on Feb. 8 and, coincidentally, the Cavaliers have not won either of their two games since.

Update: February 15 at 11:15 a.m. EDT

Tom Reed and Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Cleveland Plain Dealer have confirmed that Kyrie Irving has been activated and will play tonight. It's unclear right now if he will start or how many minutes he will log.

Expect him to make the most of his opportunity after a week of recovery.

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Tom Reed of The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that he could very possibly be back in the lineup tonight.

He writes,

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The 19-year-old participated in a full practice Tuesday and has a strong chance, barring a setback, of returning to the lineup Wednesday night against Indiana. Concussed a week ago, Irving has completed all the mandatory steps of the return-to-play guidelines set forth in the NBA's new concussion policy.

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Coach Byron Scott also feels good about Kyrie's return.

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“He went through everything today—full contact, full practice," Scott said. "[He] looked pretty good, but we still have to wait on NBA protocol to find out exactly when he can play. The final stuff for us was just seeing him out on the floor."

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Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft, has revitalized the Cavaliers and nearly guarantees the team has a bright future.

He’s been anointed the savior of this franchise after LeBron James infamously abandoned them to take his talents to South Beach, but his health is pertinent to this team winning. That is why the team is being so cautious about getting him back into the lineup.

The supporting cast around him isn’t quite where it needs to be to make a playoff run, but eventually this team is going to a contender again with the former Duke star leading the charge.

This squad needs him on the court as much as possible during his formative years, in order to keep getting experience against NBA talent. So far he’s handled it well, averaging 18 points, 5.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 23 games.

Irving has shown immense promise and can only get better from here.

Tonight, if he returns to the court, he will take on the Indiana Pacers and has a chance to continue proving he’s a franchise point guard against a playoff-bound team.

The Cavaliers actually have a chance if he's starting, just like they do against nearly every team in this league.