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| (photo. James Herbert, YouTube) |
Madison Square Garden is often referred to as "the Mecca of Basketball" and that title was certainly deserved tonight.
A day after Nike introduced Kyrie Irving as their next signature athlete, Irving proved his worth to Nike and the Cavs, propelling Cleveland to the 90-87 win over the New York Knicks.
The Knicks held the lead for much of the second quarter and half of the third, but the Cavaliers were never out of the game. The Cleveland offense was paced all night by Kyrie Irving, who finished with 37 points on 12-18 shooting from the field and 10-11 from the free throw line. Seventeen of Irving's points came in the second quarter.
The Knicks held the lead for all of the fourth quarter, until the final minutes. With the Cavs trailing 83-85 with 3:54 left in the game, LeBron James hit a three-pointer to put Cleveland ahead for good. James finished the game with only 19 points on 7-17 shooting, but seven of those points came in the final quarter. James also had 12 assists, playing the point guard role for much of the night and giving Irving the scoring duties.
Irving and James also led the way for the Cavs on the defensive end of the floor as well. New York point guards had eight combined points and, perhaps even more impressive than that, Carmelo Anthony was held to only nine points. James played lock-down D all night, something that hasn't always been the case this season, and held Anthony to 4-19 shooting. With Anthony essentially a non-factor, the Knicks had trouble coming up with other options that would have won them this game.
Even with the Anthony's struggles though, this one came down to the final seconds. With the Cavs up by only one with 10 seconds left, Irving hit a 3-foot jumper that put the nail in the Knicks' coffin.
Three Things:
1. Kyrie Doesn't Need to be a "Traditional Point Guard"
Kyrie Irving had two assists tonight...and that shouldn't matter. At all. On a night where his shooting is on fire, the lack of assists don't even need to be brought up. With LeBron James on this team, the Cavs have the luxury of another playmaker on the floor who can make the offense tick. And let's be honest, Irving has always been a better scorer than pure point guard, and that's OK. The Cavs' offense is by far their biggest strenght, in part because they have players that can play multiple roles, and Irving has been wonderful at this. On a night when none of the other Cleveland players were having trouble getting into a groove, this team needed Irving to score to keep them in that game.
2. The Offense Looks Good, But Other Areas Still Need Work
Another game, another night of the Cleveland bench being clearly outplayed. The Knicks reserves outscored the Cavs subs 42-10. Dion Waiter, once thought to be the spark that would lead Cleveland's second unit, had six points. Yes, the Knicks do have the talented offensive player J.R. Smith leading their bench players, but a 32 point difference is not going to cut it. In addition to the bench play, the Cavs were out rebounded 47-33. Seventeen of the Knicks' rebounds were off the offensive glass. On a team that has Kevin Love, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson, allowing a team to have that many second chances is a major problem. Against teams better than the Knicks, these factors probably would have led to a loss.
3. Continuity is Still Missing
When a team brings in a lot of new players, there is always an adjustment period. And while the season is still somewhat young, we're at a point where trends can start being spotted. After a stretch of amazing games for Kevin Love, the big man was almost invisible for much of this game. Love finished with 11 points, only five of which came after the first quarter. Mike Miller is apparently in the rotation now, but didn't score in 12 minutes. Joe Harris, once thought to be in the running for a starting spot, played four minutes. Irving was hot tonight, and LeBron found himself in the fourth quarter, but the rotation is unpredictable and finding continuity soon should be a point of emphasis. There's still a lot of time for this to be improved, but the sooner the Cavs can find balance, the better.
Statline of the Night:
Kyrie Irving - 37 points, 12-18 FG, 10-11 FT
Irving carried the offensive load tonigh, there is no question about that. He didn't accumulate much else in terms of stats but you can't knock him for that on a night where the Cavs just needed someone to put the ball in the hoop.
What's Next:
Dec. 5, on the road against the Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m.
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