CLEVELAND -- In the final days of the NBA All-Star Game voting, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving was surpassed by Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry to be in the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference in next month’s exhibition at Toronto’s Air Canada Center.
And now, Irving’s All-Star Game fate lies in the hands of the NBA’s coaches, who will have six days to select the reserves, which will be announced on Thursday, January 28th. Whether or not Irving gets the nod, he does not feel there is a spot for him among the game’s elite players this season.
“Whether I made it or not, it was going to be the same reaction from me,” Irving said. “It would’ve been good to be there in Toronto, but like I said, he deserves it. I didn’t play in 26 games. I’m still making up ground now. My main focus is being there for my teammates and getting better every, single day.
“Honestly, me as principled man, seeing it from a broader perspective, I wouldn’t be mad at all. Personally, I don’t feel like I deserve it just from the amount of games that I’ve played and the body of work. There are guys that have been playing the whole, entire season that are more deserving than I am.”
After missing 26 games while rehabbing from the fractured left kneecap he suffered in Game 1 of the NBA Finals back in June, Irving has averaged 16.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 0.7 steals in 26.8 minutes of play in the 15 contests since returning with a 12-point, four-rebound, two-steal performance in a 108-86 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on December 20th.
Early in January, Irving combined to score 57 points in back-to-back 120-plus point performances in wins over the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards, which came at the midway mark of the Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak.
“Kyrie’s definitely an All-Star, but we’ll see,” said Cavaliers small forward LeBron James, who was selected as an All-Star starter for the 12th consecutive season. “It’s unfortunate Ky wasn’t able to get voted in, but hopefully, the coaches recognize his importance to our team.”
And that comment from James is just the latest in a line of compliments for his younger teammate, who in his three previous NBA All-Star appearances, has scored 57 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, assisted on 23 baskets, converted 24 of his 37 shots and knocked down eight of his 18 three-pointers in 78 minutes of play.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many games Kyrie plays,” James said earlier this season. “He’s an all-star player. I don’t think that’s out of the question. If not the best, he’s one of the two best point guards in our league, along with Steph (Curry), so that’s not even a question, and he continues to just show us why. I’m going to continue to harp on it, he’s much more than an all-star player. He’s better than that. He’s 23 years old. He hasn’t even scratched the surface yet.”
Typically, the top teams in each conference have multiple players get selected to participate in the All-Star Game, but as of now, projections from media members and basketball analysts alike have the Cavaliers represented solely by James.
However, Cavaliers coach David Blatt believes his fellow coaches will reward the Cavaliers for their success, which includes holding a 3.5-game lead over the Raptors (27-15) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and 5.5-game edge over the Chicago Bulls (24-17) in the Central Division standings.
“I won’t speak specifically to two or three or five or whatever,” Blatt said. “I don’t think that’s right, and I’m also not going to tell my colleagues, my esteemed and respected and respectful colleagues what they have to vote and not have to vote. They know what’s going on. They’ve seen what we’ve done so far. They’ve played against us. They know what’s happening. They’ll know what to do, in my opinion. That’s how I feel.”
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