Memo to DeMarre Carroll: Attempting to play your game on a bad wheel can be a frustrating, humbling experience. Just look at the other end of the court.
Cleveland is having its own medical crisis, although that was well bandaged by the Cavaliers’ 97-89 victory over the Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final Wednesday.
What to do with their second-leading scorer and a key instigator at both ends of the floor, Kyrie Irving?
His sore knee reportedly grew more sore during the third quarter of Wednesday’s game. And basketball is not a recommended activity for his sore foot. And like his coach, David Blatt, said, “It’s not fun to wake up in the morning and not feel good; it’s not fun to go into the game and not feel physically 100 percent.
“But he’s still out there, he’s still helping us.”
Is he really? Against the Hawks on Wednesday, he appeared to struggle while trying to stay with Jeff Teague on defense. A 21-point-per-game performer during the regular season, Irving scored only 10 points vs. the Hawks, on 4-of-10 shooting. He was practically invisible the last quarter and a half.
After the game, Irving told the Northeast Ohio Media Group: “Everyone can see I’m not right. It’s easy to see. I just don’t have it right now. No excuses, I just don’t.”
No one was offering reliable intelligence about Irving’s availability for tonight’s Game 2. Not with his coach continuing to insist that Irving is adding value on the court.
“It’s just a matter of discomfort and having to deal with the elements and play through it,” Blatt said. “From our perspective, we hope that he can go. I personally think that as long as Ky feels he can be out there there’s no reason he can’t be.”
His famous teammate let it be known that there’s still a place for him.
“He’s valuable because he wears that jersey with ‘Irving’ on the back of it,” LeBron James said. “He’s a threat at all times no matter what percentage he’s able to play at. If he’s on the floor a defense has to shield toward him, has to know where he is just because of his ability to make shots, his ability to make plays.”
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