'We Haven't Thought About It': Cavs Focused on Home Stretch, Not Kyrie Injury
CLEVELAND — Tyronn Lue lay down to take his midday nap and woke up to a flurry of text messages. His team had finished its standard morning shootaround, and most of the Cavaliers' preparation for that night's game was in the rearview mirror. Solid stretches of sleep, of course, had been few and far between this season as the coach has had to take time off during March to address health concerns.
Rest and rehabilitation requirements notwithstanding, Lue's phone was littered with incoming messages regarding the Kyrie Irving news. Irving, who spent the first six seasons of his career in Cleveland—and who, by the way, hit the biggest shot in the franchise's history en route to its first NBA championship—received official word that his maiden voyage with the Boston Celtics was over because of complications from a bacterial infection following March knee surgery.
His season, one which started with MVP aspirations, ended abruptly once again because of his left knee, the same one that ended his season during the 2015 NBA Finals.
"You just hate to see any player go through that," Lue said before his team's 119-115 win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night. "He was a big part of what we did here, a big part of winning the championship and even though he's on another team, you still don't want to see anyone go through that. I know how competitive he is, and I know how much he wants to win, and to go through this and not be able to play in the postseason is tough for him, so prayers go out to him and his family. I wish him the best."
Irving famously requested a trade from the Cavaliers this past summer after making it to three consecutive Finals with the team, winning one in 2016. After moving to Boston shortly before the start of the 2017-18 season, Irving helped the Celtics storm out to an early lead in the Eastern Conference standings despite the opening-night loss of star forward Gordon Hayward to a brutal ankle injury.
Since leaving Cleveland, Irving has had a contentious relationship with his former team. He went on ESPN to say, "You can't put a price on happiness" following the trade, and he told Geno Auriemma on his podcast (via NESN.com) he was craving "an intellectual coach" like Boston's Brad Stevens.
On the season, Irving averaged 24.4 points and 5.1 assists per game, both down from his final campaign with the Cavaliers, but he bolstered a team that was proving to be a formidable opponent to Cleveland's quest for a fourth consecutive NBA Finals trip. The injury news is a sharp blow to Boston, but if instant reactions from Cleveland are any indication, the team's plan to return as representatives of the East remains unchanged, if only because much more can shift before the regular season ends next Wednesday.
"We haven't thought about it at all," Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. told Bleacher Report. "My concern is about tonight. There's so much shake-up that can still happen on both sides of the conference from top to bottom. Whether we end up seeing [Boston] or we don't, that's not really our concern at this point."
Cavs forward Tristan Thompson was drafted alongside Irving in 2011—the point guard went first overall with the big man was selected three spots later. Both players were a part of great times in Cleveland, but both went through rocky stretches as well.
When Irving and Thompson were rookies, the forward-center referred to the duo as Batman and Batman. During some of the worst times, they were accused of playing "buddy ball." Thompson is close friends with LeBron James, while Irving reportedly asked for his trade to get out from James' shadow. Nevertheless, the news of Irving's knee impacted Thompson.
"You don't want to see a guy in our league, especially a guy you've got a great relationship with [go down]," Thompson told Bleacher Report. "I enjoy watching Kyrie play. He's one of my favorite players to watch in the playoffs. It's now about him getting healthy. The NBA career is a marathon and not a sprint, so whatever it takes for him to get the most years at a high level, you have to do it."
Thompson had not reached out to Irving but planned to after the news became official.
"I have to check on my guys," he said.
To that point, however, Thompson joined Nance in that he wasn't letting Kyrie's injury impact his postseason focus.
"Brad Stevens has done a good job," Thompson said. "Terry Rozier is averaging 16 [points] after the All-Star break, so he's done a good job. They're still a good team. They have a lot of pieces. Marcus Morris is playing at a very high level right now. Just because they have guys down, they still find ways to bounce back and have guys step up on their ballclub."
The Celtics are locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games ahead of the Cavaliers with four games to play. Boston is assured the second seed thanks to its first-half success, but with their Thursday night win over Washington, the Cavs sit just a half-game ahead of the surging Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 3 seed with the two teams set to play in Philly on Friday night.
Much like Boston, Philadelphia is dealing with injuries, losing center Joel Embiid for possibly the next two weeks to orbital surgery. Also much like Boston, Philadelphia has earned the respect of the rest of the conference as a team that can thrive without its biggest star.
"They're very good, with or without [Embiid] in the lineup," James said following Thursday's win. "Obviously Embiid's a special talent, but they've been playing so much without him that they still keep the momentum going. It starts with Ben getting everyone involved ... They've been playing some good ball."
If Cleveland were to remain the No. 3 seed, it would finish on the Celtics' side of the bracket along with the No. 7 seed (presently the Wizards) and No. 6 seed (Miami Heat). In the event the team were to fall to the No. 4 seed, though it would still possess home court in the first round, it would join the top-seeded Toronto Raptors, the No. 5 seed (Indiana Pacers) and the No. 8 seed (Milwaukee Bucks).
The Pacers have given the Cavaliers problems, winning three of four this season against Cleveland. The Milwaukee Bucks possess the speed and length that has been a challenge for the Cavs all season, with three of their four games in 2017-18 being decided by seven points or fewer.
As it pertains to Boston, the Cavaliers have won two of the three matchups this season, all of which prominently featured Irving. With Irving to miss four to five months, joining Hayward as crucial yet inactive members of the organization, the Celtics' collective dream of dethroning the Cavaliers becomes that much more of an uphill climb.
Internally, the Cavs have long stated their goal is to get through the regular season healthy, but a quick look at the standings makes the final few games go from high-level practices (shoutout to Mike Brown) to having leaguewide impact in the flash of a headline.
A poll of the Cavaliers locker room after Thursday night's win, however, reiterated the team's desire to finish the season with the best seed possible. But with Cleveland's season being a roller coaster of headlines and tribulations—James referred to it as "four seasons into one"—winning out is more for the personal pride of the men involved than any postseason bracket placement.
"I'm sure individual guys have talked about it one-on-one, but as a team, we haven't addressed where we finish," Nance said. "We're just trying to finish the season hot. It doesn't matter if we finish third or fourth. We're not running from anybody so I'm not concerned about it."
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