Links to the Present: February 23, 2012
2012-02-23
“Kyrie Irving is quickly developing the reputation as a clutch player. Now the stats are beginning to back it up. According to the website 82games.com, Irving ranks 15th in the league in scoring during clutch time, which the website defines as the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when neither team is ahead by more than five points. Irving has been involved in 12 games under that circumstance, and his clutch-time production, when stretched across 48 minutes, is 36.4 points. His free-throw percentage in that instance is 87 percent, up slightly from his season average of 85 percent.” [Jason Lloyd]
“Not only could the Cavaliers offer [Wilson] Chandler more money this season, but with the contract of Antawn Jamison slated to come off of their books at year-end, a longer-term deal could certainly be in the mix. Couple all of this with the team potentially sliding down in the lottery enough to focus their efforts on big men like Myers Leonard or either Zeller brother, addressing the wing via free agency may not be a misguided concept, as unsubstantiated as this specific possibility may be.” [Scott Sargent]
“One can see why Tristan Thompson is logging so many minutes at center. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the 89-84 loss to New Orleans on Wednesday — more rebounds than starting center Semih Erden (three) and primary backup center Ryan Hollins (six) had combined. Thompson is averaging 5.7 rebounds on the season, which dwarfs the numbers put up by Hollins (1.9) and Erden (2.6). In 203 minutes this season, Hollins has 14 defensive rebounds.” [CBS Sports]
HoopsDogg, I agree with you Kyrie embarrasses himself on D at times, but being that he’s a rookie, that he’s never had to grind games in and out like this, and in a condensed schedule, where he has to have the energy to carry his team offensively in the fourth quarter, I’m not going to rip him too much for it. I’m hopeful that he can become a decent defender when the conditioning and practice kicks in. He’s got athleticism, size, and smarts to be a good defender, he’ll just need the hustle and energy to do so hopefully. But… Read more »
Colin, great to “see” you blogging! How about taking a minute to celebrate A. Jamison? Solid NBA player whom the basketball gods mostly consigned to terrible teams. Gilbert Arenas ruined his window of opportunity in Washington. Before the Cavs discard him, a tip of the hat to a career-long good contributor (and a former NCAA player of the year).
I am in the pack that says…Kyrie has never played this many games. We need him on offense. He’s clearly not pushing it on defense to make it through the year.
I have no worries. Give the kid time.
I love his game, but watch his last 5 games and it’s obvious that other guards love to drive on him, put him in the pick and roll, and get to the corners off the ball. He drifts a lot on defense. That’s all I’m saying.
Maybe it’s just because I’m not the youngest person on here (and neither the oldest), but why does it seem like no one remembers when we had these exact same conversations about the now-perennial 1st team defensive forward LeBron James when he was that age? D is simply hustle/athleticism, intelligence and system. Offense is much harder to pick up…
HoopsDogg,
The kid is 19. He’s played 28 games in the NBA and 19 games in college. Thats 47 games of playing basketball against non-highschoolers. He probably hasn’t reached his full athletic potential yet and is intelligent. Cut the guy some slack. Yes, he’s not a good defender right now, but that doesn’t mean he can’t become one. I don’t think someone “develops a reputation” in only 28 games as a rookie
In other news, Kyrie Irving is developing a reputation as someone you can absolutely get your scoring average up against as he helps too much on the pick and roll, drifts on defense, and is lazy about chasing guys off off pin downs. Well, I hope the Cavs brain trust is considering making an offer on Chandler too, because he’s too young and too talented to not try to get for a 3 year MLE, or maybe a little bit more. If we could get him for 6 million a year right now instead of 8 million a year in… Read more »
http://www.hoopstats101.blogspot.com/
Check out this alternative stats analysis of Kyrie Irving — looking good for Cleveland fans!
Wilson Chandler would be an excellent role player, and I think he could function well as the third best player on a contender. He is skilled enough to guard bigger 2s, 3s and smaller/stretch 4s. Offensively, he’s athletic enough to create his own shot, but isn’t that great of a shooter. Considering his hustle and ability to finish at the rim, he should be good for 12-18 points a night. The cavs could do much worse, assuming the price is right. I have also read reports that Toronto is shopping for teams with more cap space to bid against Denver… Read more »