NBA Draft Preview 2011: Why the Cleveland Cavaliers Will Select Kyrie Irving
The Cleveland Cavaliers won the No. 1 overall pick via draft lottery.
And it looks like Kyrie Irving will be added to what was one heck of a dreadful Cleveland squad.
Irving works the court with ease and makes difficult passes effortlessly. He shows a high basketball IQ and great team leadership despite his young age (19). His fearless mentality is a perfect fit to be a point guard in the NBA. Irving stands at a solid 6'3", 190 pounds and has plenty of time to grow and get stronger.
The freshman averaged 17.5 points per game during his eight-game regular season at Duke. He missed the next 26 games with a right toe injury before returning to score 53 points in just 72 minutes in the Blue Devil's three NCAA tournament matches.
Not only is Irving flashy on offense, but he is a determined competitor on defense and does anything in his power to shut down his opponent. He ripped the ball away from the other team 16 times in 11 games played.
Irving is an all-around can't miss athlete. He did an incredible job of putting a team full of veterans on his back while evenhandedly making those around him better. Duke had a 10-1 record when Irving was in the lineup.
Irving can distribute the ball like every PG is expected to, but he's also an exceptional shooter.
He can knock it down from close, mid and deep range. He shows great shot selection — the young Blue Devil made 52.9 percent of his shots, including 18 of 39 (46.2 percent) from downtown.
Irving displays his fondness to the fast break as he loves to take it himself inside and create contact. He can make the great pass in transition as well.
The New Jersey native is a flat-out ball handler. He gets his teammates involved (4.3 assists per game) and rarely turns the ball over — he averaged one giveaway per 11 minutes of playing time.
Here are a few other reasons why Irving will be a great fit in Cleveland.
Baron Davis and Ramon Sessions
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The Cleveland Cavaliers traded Mo Williams to the Los Angeles Clippers and received Baron Davis in return in early February.
Davis scored 13.9 points and tossed 6.1 assists in his 15 games played with Cleveland. The Cavaliers won six of these games.
These aren't terrible statistics. They're actually pretty decent for a team who won 19 games in 82 attempts.
However, Davis has dealt with nagging injuries throughout his career — most recently towards the end of the season with a sore left knee and back spasms. The veteran PG turned 32 in April and looks as if he's beginning to take a stumble in his career.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports that when the Cavs acquired guard Baron Davis in February, he said he was anxious to take on a mentoring role for the first time in his career. He'll get that chance if the Cavs draft Kyrie Irving with the No. 1 overall pick.
''I'm great with that,'' Davis said. ''For what I've been through in my career, playing against all the top guards — John Stockton, Gary Payton, now to Derrick Rose and Steve Nash — it would be great for me to mentor a young point guard and have a relationship.''
Good thing, because I don't think he'd have a choice anyways.
And as for Ramon Sessions — well, I'm not exactly sure what Cleveland will decide to do with him, pending the selection of Irving. Statistically, he had the best season of his career. The Cavs will most likely deal Sessions in hopes of a decent role player at a different position.
Points Discrepancy
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Cleveland ranked 25th in the NBA, scoring just 95.5 points per game. This has to improve if the Cavs want to win more than 19 games next season.
And if they draft Kyrie Irving, it will.
Irving averaged 17.5 points in 11 games last season in just 303 minutes on the court. That's 1.58 points a minute — Kobe Bryant totaled for 1.34 in 2010-11.
Transition all of this to the NBA and Irving would be putting up over 18 a game — Antwan Jamison led the Cavaliers with 18 points per contest this season.
The Blue Devils scored 79.7 points and shot 49.8 percent when Irving was in the lineup. Without him, they went 76.2 a game and made 46 percent of their field goals.
I think its safe to say that Irving improves your team's chances of scoring more points.
Starless
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It's 2011 A.D., but for the Cavs, its 1 A.L. — one season After LeBron.
LeBron James was the franchise player for Cleveland. He was the team.
And this was proven during his absence after his infamous flee to South Beach; the Cavaliers went from winning 61 games to 19.
No names on the Cleveland roster pop out: Baron Davis, J.J. Hickson, Anthony Parker, Antwan Jamison, Anderson Varejeo, Alonzo Gee, etc. Yes, this team owns a few crafty veterans. But the average age of the Cavs' starting five this year was 29.4. Jamison was the leading scorer at 18, Varajeo led with 9.7 rebounds and Mo Williams (currently with the Clippers) passed 7.1 dimes a game.
The Cavaliers finished last in the Eastern Conference and 27th in the power rankings.
Cleveland needs a star.
And with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, they hope to find one in Irving.
