LeBron on Irving's Finals-ending injury: 'People are writing us off'
The Big Three of Cleveland is down to only one.
Point guard Kyrie Irving underwent surgery after fracturing his kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Irving is expected to miss three to four months and the Cavaliers are down to just one healthy point guard - Matthew Dellavedova - remaining on the roster.
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Irving's injury came during the fourth quarter of Cleveland's heartbreaking Game 1 loss. Already weakened due to tendinitis, Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson collided with Irving and bumped him out of the Finals.
LeBron James was asked about the task before him and the Cavaliers with Irving out. To that, James offered a frank response.
LeBron: "I said this was going to be one of the most challenging seasons of my career. And this just adds to it."
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) June 6, 2015
He added:
(I) understand that we were the underdog coming into the series, and with Kyrie being out, people are writing us off. So, I mean, that's fine. That's fine. I'm motivated to get our guys ready to go (Sunday), and we will be ready. ...
It's a tough pill to swallow. Obviously, we've been in this situation, but we always knew at some point he'll come back. Now that he's out for the rest of the Finals and out for a period of a long time, first of all, it sucks for him personally. It's a huge blow for our team, especially at this stage.
You want to try to be as close to full strength as possible throughout these games, especially when you're going against a worthy opponent like we're facing. So it's a tough situation for our team, and guys have to pick up in his absence.
James hits the nail on the head. It's been a trying season for him and the Cavaliers. Already down 1-0 without Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao, the Cavaliers will be hard-pressed to upset the heavily-favored Warriors with just himself and a host of unreliable role players.
But with James still standing, it would be a fool's errand to take the Cavaliers lightly, something the Warriors are leery of.
Warriors asst coach Ron Adams says it's a "fairy tale" to think Finals over due to Kyrie's injury. Worried bout Cavs getting more cohesive.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) June 6, 2015
Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was asked about Irving's injury Saturday and the beleaguered head coach dubbed it as a "contact injury."
David Blatt on Kyrie: "He got kneed in the side of his knee. It was a contact injury. And the result was a fracture of the knee cap."
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) June 6, 2015