Kyrie Irving is a ______ defensive player this season.

[CavaliersFTW]

Fill in the blank.

Cavs fans should already know what's up. I'm curious what the non Cavs fans and LeStans believe.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

an* average

[navy]

Started off slow but picked it up defensively. Still takes breaks.

I guess good would be the word here. depends what you consider average/great

[J Shuttlesworth]

Eye test tells me he's been solid. I'd say well above average. I made this thread a while ago. Time to update it i guess

http://i.imgur.com/FOJmRKX.png

[BasedTom]

turnstile

[Cocaine80s]

African American

[RoundMoundOfReb]

There is more to defense than just looking at the stats the player you're guarding has. Rotations/help defense is far more important (not so much for a PG but still)...he's been very good on-ball...but like most young players he's not a great help defender...overall he's about average. I expect him to get better as he gains experience though.

[Crimsonrain777]

"insignificant"

but i didnt follow Lebron to Cleveland so i don't really know. :lol

[Pushxx]

Fill in the blank.

Cavs fans should already know what's up. I'm curious what the non Cavs fans and LeStans believe.

What would you say since you've been watching him? I'm curious. :D

EDIT: forgot to say it seems like he's been defending pretty well this season from what I've seen.

[J Shuttlesworth]

Update on his numbers vs. elite PGs in recent play. The only game he really got schooled was against Rose before the all star break:

Against Blazers:

Lillard - 4-19 shooting
Kyrie - 55 pts + GW

Against Thunder:

Westbrook - 7/26 shooting on 22 pts :eek:
Kyrie had 26/6/2

Against Bulls:

Rose - 5/14 shooting
Kyrie put up 18/12/4

Against Clippers
Paul - 4/14 shooting for 10/9 and the L
*Kyrie only 1/5 doe*

Against Wizards
Wall - 18/9 50% shooting (good game)
Kyrie - 25/7 50% shooting (better game)

Against Warriors
Curry - 5/17 for 18/6 and 4 turnovers
Kyrie with 24/3 and 2 steals

Seems like he's regularly outplaying his opponent PGs, and if he's having an off game, he's still neutralizing their play

[Graviton]

Update on his numbers vs. elite PGs in recent play. The only game he really got schooled was against Rose before the all star break:

Against Blazers:

Lillard - 4-19 shooting
Kyrie - 55 pts + GW

Against Thunder:

Westbrook - 7/26 shooting on 22 pts :eek:
Kyrie had 26/6/2

Against Bulls:

Rose - 5/14 shooting
Kyrie put up 18/12/4

Against Clippers
Paul - 4/14 shooting for 10/9 and the L
*Kyrie only 1/5 doe*

Against Wizards
Wall - 18/9 50% shooting (good game)
Kyrie - 25/7 50% shooting (better game)

Against Warriors
Curry - 5/17 for 18/6 and 4 turnovers
Kyrie with 24/3 and 2 steals

Seems like he's regularly outplaying his opponent PGs, and if he's having an off game, he's still neutralizing their play
No excuses. From those games it's obvious Cavs have the best PG in the league, on top of the best player and the best PF. Crazy.

[J Shuttlesworth]

No excuses. From those games it's obvious Cavs have the best PG in the league, on top of the best player and the best PF. Crazy.
Thanks for reminding us just how great LBJ is. The moment Kyrie plays with him, he becomes the best PG in the game :bowdown:

[Graviton]

Thanks for reminding us just how great LBJ is. The moment Kyrie plays with him, he becomes the best PG in the game :bowdown:
He dropped 55 points without him. :lol

[Prime_Shaq]

"Improved"

[J Shuttlesworth]

He dropped 55 points without him. :lol
I know, it's just amazing. Just the presence of playing on a team with LeBron James is inspiring players to play OUT OF THEIR MIND. Perkins is 100% FG on the Cavs so far and putting up 34 pts per 36. Unreal stuff.

[AintNoSunshine]

African American
:oldlol:

[iamgine]

bad ass

[ImKobe]

decent

[Prometheus]

"very good"

It's easy to see if you just open up your eyes and pay attention.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Been above-average for most of the year. Funny part is you still saw improvement even before the trades.

[Meticode]

He's honestly been more active defensively. He hasn't made any clear cut improvements, but he's fighting over picks harder and smarter and he's getting his hands up. He just simply has put in more effort defensively and that's honestly all you can ask for from an offensive player like Irving.

Hopefully the shoulder injury isn't serious. I'm hoping for 1-2 weeks missed max. And a sprain, not something serious where he's gone for a month or maybe longer like Kobe. We'll find out today.

[boozehound]

perimeter

[boozehound]

He's honestly been more active defensively. He hasn't made any clear cut improvements, but he's fighting over picks harder and smarter and he's getting his hands up. He just simply has put in more effort defensively and that's honestly all you can ask for from an offensive player like Irving.

Hopefully the shoulder injury isn't serious. I'm hoping for 1-2 weeks missed max. And a sprain, not something serious where he's gone for a month or maybe longer like Kobe. We'll find out today.
right, it does not really seem like an improvement in technique, hes just actually trying for a change.

[MP.Trey]

Much more consistent

[RedBlackAttack]

If you take the season as a whole, I'd simply say "much improved" because that includes the early portion of the year where he was maybe just a little better than last year. Truth is, Kyrie was never as bad a defender as his detractors would have you believe. His first two years, he was about as bad as you'd expect a 19-20 year old to be when he is being asked to essentially carry the entire load offensively for a rebuilding team.

He made some strides to improve last year. I actually thought part of the reason his efficiency dropped last season was because he was really starting to exert more energy and compete defensively. He still wasn't great, don't get me wrong ... but the effort improved.

That continued into the early part of this season.

However, over the last few months, he has been better than just "improved." He's been a big part of the reason why the Cavs have gone from one of the worst defensive teams in the league to an above average one. Obviously Mozgov protecting the rim is the biggest reason, but the perimeter defense has been so much more aggressive and active. You can just see the way Irving fights through every pick now, when he used to just give up and switch when he saw it coming.

The transformation has been huge. I'd say he has been a legitimately good defender in the last several months.

[Eric Cartman]

No homo of course