Why is Kyrie not being discussed as part of the Cavs' problems?

[miraclejohan]

Maybe it's just me...but I haven't heard anyone talk about how losing Kyrie via trade has also contributed to the Cavs' current disarray. Like, yes, IT is hurt, Thompson is hurt, Lue is indecisive and/or experimenting with lineups, but somehow the narrative is still "Lebron is amazing, so they should be the best team in the East."  What?  They lost Kyrie Irving.  How does this not factor in to the discussion?  Losing him has infinitely more impact than IT being hurt. Lebron, in all his greatness, will never be as good as Lebron AND Kyrie Irving.

It might be a nice underscoring of what Kyrie was sick of.  And probably why he's going to love being the Man in Boston.  Oh, and Stevens has him playing D.  Take that, Lebron.

[footey]

TP.

I agree. I think they are just starting to bring it up.

[PhoSita]

I think the obvious time to bring that up would be after they get IT back and the Cavs continue struggling.

Until then, we have to wonder how they will look with IT.  He was, after all, the player involved in the trade who had the best season last year.

[Birdman]

I said that Irving leaving is main part of Cavs woes

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

They will likely be .500 after today, I'm sure they aren't that worried. I wish it fell apart but it's just another ho hum season for him.

[ChillyWilly]

Lebron's 3 years with Kyrie saw him average his 3 lowest PPG since his rookie season. Had a career high in assists last season while also beating his career avg the year before.

I'm not really sure what that means to be honest but while digging through his number those 2 immediately jumped out at me.

[fairweatherfan]

Because after years of LeBron teams mailing in the regular season nobody's taking their struggles too seriously, and Kyrie's replacement hasn't suited up yet.

[CelticD]

Last season Kyrie Irving was the only player in NBA history to average 25 points and 6 assists while not leading his team in either category.

It's very easy to take someone like Irving for granted when you have someone like Lebron on your team. The narrative is put Lebron on any team and they'll become a contender, and to some it would be blasphemous to say Lebron couldn't do what he did without Kyrie.

[Snakehead]

He is by certain people for sure.  Was just listening to Bill Simmons discussing it on his podcast.  But then he also gave Smart no credit for the Celtics defense so Simmons can be frustrating one way or another every time.  It was a Ringer NBA podcast if anyone wants to check it out, they did talk Celtics for a bit early.

[Snakehead]

Until then, we have to wonder how they will look with IT. 

They'll be a lot better on offense but in no possible way could he improve their defense.

[ChillyWilly]

He is by certain people for sure.  Was just listening to Bill Simmons discussing it on his podcast.  But then he also gave Smart no credit for the Celtics defense so Simmons can be frustrating one way or another every time.

Because it doesn't fit your narrative of Smart? Smart's advanced stats say he's barely above avg defender this season.

[SHAQATTACK]

Cavs don't need kyrie ,  all Lebron has to do is bring it every nght ,  Score 57 points ....play 40 minutes .    He has never been injured so he should be fine to play full bore every night for the next seven or eight seasons,

But when IT comes back , he will score 30 points , 10  assist per game .  Kyrie who ?

With the incredible coaching savy of Lue and the greatest player on the planet ,   no one should worry about Cleveland .

[miraclejohan]

I think the obvious time to bring that up would be after they get IT back and the Cavs continue struggling.

Until then, we have to wonder how they will look with IT.  He was, after all, the player involved in the trade who had the best season last year.

Disagree.  Waiting for after IT gets back is when to talk about evaluating the trade.  They are missing Kyrie right now (and, coincidentally, IT) but it is not being discussed as a major storyline. 

[miraclejohan]

Lebron's 3 years with Kyrie saw him average his 3 lowest PPG since his rookie season. Had a career high in assists last season while also beating his career avg the year before.

I'm not really sure what that means to be honest but while digging through his number those 2 immediately jumped out at me.

Those two stats show me that Lebron didn't need to score as much because he had Kyrie (as well as others, but Kyrie on the floor also helps others get open) and his assist go up because of that.  Kyrie in Boston means Lebron needs to score more and has less scoring options to dish to. 

[miraclejohan]

Last season Kyrie Irving was the only player in NBA history to average 25 points and 6 assists while not leading his team in either category.

It's very easy to take someone like Irving for granted when you have someone like Lebron on your team. The narrative is put Lebron on any team and they'll become a contender, and to some it would be blasphemous to say Lebron couldn't do what he did without Kyrie.

TP.  I think this is exactly what Kyrie wanted to escape from. Especially because when Lebron's teams fail its about the supporting cast and when they win its about his greatness.