Kyrie Irving Injury: Updates on Cavaliers Star's Knee and Return
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving left Thursday's road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and suffered a knee contusion late in the second quarter. Irving later entered the game in the second half. He has not missed any additional time due to the injury since.
Continue for updates.
Friday, Dec. 12
Irving to Play vs. Pelicans
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal provides an update on Irving's status:
Thursday, Dec. 11
Irving, 22, went down contesting a Russell Westbrook shot. It appeared his knee buckled after connecting with Westbrook's leg, and he was on the floor for several minutes as trainers attended to him.
Turner Sports' Rachel Nichols provides details on the diagnosis:
The NBA provided footage of Irving getting loose prior to returning to the game:
ESPN's Dave McMenamin and CBS Sports' NBA feed initially offered insight on the scene, which appeared to be serious:
Irving finished with 20 points and six assists on 7-of-21 shooting, playing 40 minutes. The Cavaliers were already without LeBron James, who sat out Thursday with knee soreness.
The reigning All-Star MVP, Irving is in the midst of both a major transition and the biggest season of his young career. After toiling on lottery-bound losers his first three NBA seasons, the arrivals of James and Kevin Love have turned Cleveland into an Eastern Conference favorite.
Irving's place within that Big Three has long been an ongoing subplot. Known for his off-the-dribble creativity and ability to make shots off the bounce—Irving is a member of the strange club of players who are better shooters after dribbling than in catch-and-shoot situations—the former No. 1 pick has had to adjust his game to better fit his surrounding stars.
Irving has also gone through important growing pains of his own. He was the MVP of the U.S. National team that won gold at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, where he started a transition to becoming a more committed defender. A borderline turnstile in his first three NBA seasons, Irving has been noticeably more aggressive pressuring opposing ball-handlers.
“Coach wants me to do it, and I want to do it,” Irving told Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. “I actually enjoy doing it. Coach K drew that fire in me and put me out there and told me what to do on the defensive end. It’s more or less about trusting the defense and the guys behind me."
Losing Irving, if for an extended period, would have even more pressure on a perimeter defense that was already leaky. Matthew Dellavedova is an above-average defender and started in place of James on Thursday, but no one else in Cleveland's regular guard rotation can even approach plus status.
It's undoubtedly a relief to all involved he was able to stay in the game.
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