#3 Kyrie Irving provides much needed offensive support
With his dominant all-round abilities, if LeBron James was Batman in this Finals series, Kyrie Irving played the perfect Robin. He assisted James if and when he needed it by releasing him of pressure with some instant efficient offense.
Kyrie Irving was absolutely horrible in the first two games of the series. Game 1 he had 26 points on 7 of 22 shooting while Game 2 he had just 10 points but since then he has really risen to the occasion. In the next 5 games, he has averaged 30.8 points on an efficient 50.8% from the field and 46.7% from long range.
More importantly, he teamed up along with James when the team needed leadership the most- Game 5. He registered 41 points on 17 of 24 shooting (5 of 7 on 3’s) in a crucial game. Except for the James disappearing act, ESPN’s Skip Bayless aptly describes how useful Irving’s offense has been in the latter part of this series:
While many have labeled Irving as a heavy score first point guard, he has actually averaged more assists than Curry and outdueled him in these Finals. More importantly, his easy and instant offense has allowed James to take rests, whether that’s on or off the floor.
In Game 7, with all the attention and spotlight that James was getting, it was Irving who knocked down a clutch dagger 3 to give the Cavaliers the lead in the closing minute.
