Kyrie Irving on Track to Pass LeBron James as Cleveland Cavaliers' Best Player
While still widely considered the NBA's best player, could LeBron James soon become the second option on his own team?
James, 30, is a four-time MVP who should still have some elite years left. While his stats have dropped a bit in his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, James is still producing at a Hall-of-Fame level.
He's unquestionably the Cavs' best player, but for how long?
After all, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving, 23, is a rising superstar. Still under his rookie contract, with a max extension set to kick in next season, Irving is enjoying a career year and recently broke James' single game franchise scoring record.
Irving is already a better shooter, ball-handler, one-on-one scorer and, by the way, is seven years younger than James.
With both committed to a future in Cleveland, it's only a matter of time until Irving overtakes James for the title of Cavaliers' best overall player.
James Is Still on Top...
James is continuing to play at a high level, with only a small amount of evidence to suggest he's slowing down.
Make no mistake, however, he's still the alpha dog in Cleveland.
His stat line of 25.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists is elite, with only two other NBA players (James Harden, Russell Westbrook) reaching the 25-5-7 combo this season. He leads the Cavs in scoring, assists, steals and PER.
Perhaps his greatest sign of impact is James' on/off rating. The Cavaliers score 10.9 more points per 100 possessions with James on the floor, giving up 4.5 fewer points as well. This 15.5 point swing is the largest difference of any Cav.
Even when Irving went off for 34 points against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 5, James was quick to get in his ear after the game, making sure the point guard knew he also finished with a goose egg in the assist column.
As Irving described to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group, their conversation was quick but meaningful.
""He came up to me and was like, 'One, you can never have another game with no assists,' " Irving said, describing James' words. "'You can damn near have just one, two, three, but you can't have zero.' And I was like, 'All right, cool, it won't happen again.' And it hasn't happened since that game."
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As evidenced, James still sets the tone on offense, defense, during huddles and in the locker room. Everything the Cavaliers do still revolves around him.
...With Irving Not Far Behind
While James can claim most of the credit for Cleveland's 48-27 record, one can't overlook the contributions Irving has made.
He's putting up 21.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and a career-best 40.6 percent from deep. With James on board, Irving has been able to play off the ball far more often, leading to open looks like he's never seen before.
Irving has also given James a scoring threat from the point guard position, something he's never had before. As James told Vardon of the NEOMG:
"When Kyrie is in scoring-mentality mode where he has it going, I want to continue to be the guy to go to him and to set it up, because I could always be engaged in the game, whether I'm scoring or not. So to have a guy like that who can go off for 50 on any given night is definitely a luxury.
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His outside shooting ranks first on the Cavaliers, while Irving's scoring, assists and PER are second only to James.
We've seen a much better defensive effort from Irving, following three years of less-than-desirable results. He's also done a solid job handling the ball this season, adding to his already impressive skill set. Irving's 2.4 turnovers and 11.3 turnover percentage are both career lows.
Of course, we've witnessed some spectacular scoring outputs from Irving as well.
His first was a 55-point explosion in a Jan. 28 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. James was grabbing some extra rest that game and could only watch Irving sink a franchise-record 11 three-pointers. It marked just the second contest all season Cleveland had won while James was inactive.
The second instance came on March 12 in San Antonio, where Irving's 57 points led the Cavaliers to an overtime win against the Spurs. Not only did Irving top James' previous record of 56 points, he did so while sharing the ball with his MVP teammate. Irving was extremely efficient in his carving of the Spurs defense, going 20-of-32 from the field, 7-of-7 from deep and 10-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Even James seemed impressed after the game, noting he didn't mind letting Irving borrow just one of his team records.
Irving is the NBA's only player to register 50 points or more twice in a game this season.
These kind of performances, with and without James on the court, shows he's ready to take on a larger role and soon become leader of the Cavaliers.
Closing the Gap
It may be tough to envision anyone overtaking James anytime soon.
He'll eventually go down as the best player in franchise history. As remarkable as it may seem, Irving could wind up right behind him.
To be clear, Irving will pass James at some point. Irving is still a few seasons from hitting his prime. James has already hit his and is starting to decline, both in production and efficiency.
First, let's look at the gap between Irving and James from last season in five key areas.
Notice the difference between the two stars' win shares, efficiency and true shooting percentage.
Now, here's how Irving and James stack up as teammates just one year later.
Irving has leapfrogged James when it comes to win shares and tied him in shooting. The gaps in scoring and efficiency have also been closed.
In fact, Irving's actually beating James this season when it comes to three-point shooting (40.6 percent to 35.3), free-throw shooting (86.3 percent to 71.7) and offensive rating (116 to 112).
When it comes to taking care of the ball, there's no comparison. James has been sloppy all season, beginning with an eight turnover performance against the New York Knicks on Oct. 30. He's averaging 4.1 miscues a night, the highest of his 12-year career. As previously mentioned, Irving's 2.4 turnovers are the fewest he's ever recorded.
While Irving doesn't possess the size of James, he's great at creating space with the dribble, leading to open shots.
When it comes to their age differential, Irving doesn't mind sacrificing a few years to James, notes Vardon of the NEOMG.
""It doesn't matter that he's older. I've been playing against older guys my whole entire life," Irving said. "I mean, I played with my dad in New York City against older guys all the time. I feel like I have an old-school game, I do things people probably think a 23 year old shouldn't know or do.
"And I'm just like, I have that in my game from my dad and from working hard. And LeBron has a lot of things that he has developed, and I want to learn, too."
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Even James has been impressed with his young teammate's maturity, telling Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal:
"He’s grown every single day. He has gotten more serious with the game, understanding what this moment can be for himself and us as a team. He’s the head of the snake for us, being the point guard, being the catalyst, starting it off defensively. He’s been great.
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Irving is nipping on James' heels, so, how long until he catches him?
Irving Will Catch James In....
To be clear, Irving will never surpass James in certain categories. He won't rebound at a higher rate, block more shots or be able to guard multiple positions.
That being said, Irving is already at James' level, or above, when it comes to scoring. He's proven that with his shooting percentages and with multiple 50-plus point outings.
When it comes to Cavaliers history, Irving could eventually set the franchise record for games, points, three-pointers made and steals. James holds three of the four, but given his four years spent in Miami, has left room for Irving to eventually pass him in all.
The quickest way Irving can catch James is by tightening up his defense even more. Irving started out as a poor defender and has upgraded to average at this point. During his prime, James was considered one of the best defensive players in the league. While he's fallen off a bit this season, James is still light years ahead of Irving on that side of the ball.
Irving won't overtake James this season. It's also safe to say James will remain the Cavaliers' best player in 2015-16 as well. The following year, when Irving is 25 and James 32, will represent the former's best chance to catch the latter.
In two years time, Irving could very well be one of the best offensive players in the NBA.
It's his defense, however, that will ultimately dictate when he can take the reins from James in Cleveland.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010.
All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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