Things have been going well for the 48-27 Cleveland Cavaliers lately, but everyone remembers their slow start to the season.
In a recent interview with the Northeast Ohio Media Group’s Joe Vardon, Kyrie Irving spoke on the relationship between Lebron James and himself early in the season. Per Vardon, James came up to Irving after a loss to the Utah Jazz and told him,
“One, you can never have another game with no assists…You can damn near have just one, two, three, but you can’t have zero.”
It would appear that Lebron was frustrated with Kyrie’s lack of playmaking, despite Irving’s 34 points that game. Kyrie says that he responded well to Lebron’s criticisms, telling Vardon:
“I was like, ‘All right, cool, it won’t happen again.’ And it hasn’t happened since that game.”
Kyrie also told Vargon:
“I don’t want to say it’s not been rocky at all,” Irving said. “Obviously, he sees the game one way, I see the game another way. What makes it great about being on the team is that we both can see it together in our own way.”
This should not be blown out of proportion. Two new teammates, especially two All-Star-level teammates, will take some time to mesh, and get used to each other’s playing styles. Kyrie has never played with another all-star, let alone the best player in the league. He was used to shouldering the burden for Cleveland, and now he’s sharing the ball with players just as good as he is. It’s only natural that this would take some getting used to.
Things started out a bit rough between the two, but they seem to have sorted out their differences since. Cavs fans should be hoping that the issues between Lebron and Kevin Love can be similarly solved.
