It may be because of injuries but I trully feel that Deron has already peaked and his skills are diminishing.
From the same guy that did the 'Masters of Misdirection' article about the Spurs' offense:
How the San Antonio Spurs defended Kyrie Irving better than anyone ever has
By Mike Prada
Kyrie Irving had the worst game of his career against the San Antonio Spurs, and it's no accident why it happened. We break down the Spurs' defensive strategy on the Cavaliers' high-scoring all-star.
http://www.sbnation.com/2013/2/14/39...s-defense-2013
This was a great read, (didn't know you had it here and felt it was thready worthy)
But putting it here probably makes more sense since this thread already existed
Curry, if he can stay healthy, but that's a big if. Until anything drastically changes, Williams is not better than Irving any longer. NJ would be much better with Kyrie than Williams at this point. Rondo is questionable somewhat, as it appears more and more than he wants his assists/stats.
So really, with all the question marks on those guys, he's mostly behind Rose/Paul/Parker/Westbrook. Curry at the moment is debatable since he's so often injured.
Last edited by Pasta Batman; 02-14-2013 at 03:34 PM.
Hes great on offense, but hes not even an average defensive player. Hes actually among the league's worst defensive PG's.
That seriously brings him down to earth.
And he can definitely score in buckets and has a great game when his team has the ball. But there is a long list of players that are good on bad teams. Until he shows that he can play with other great players and create a true synergy with them then the jury is still out a bit. But that just takes time and opportunity...and that opportunity just doesn't really exist right now in Cleveland. Still, hes doing so much good right you'd be crazy to not be totally salivating as a Cavs fan. But I can't in good conscience put him in the same conversation as Paul, Parker, Westbrook etc. Hes right outside that group.
In Irving's defense, he doesn't have great teammates to pass too, but on the scoring and clutch front (one of the best in the league in clutch minutes), he's really good. Obv not in the top 4 (Parker/Westbrook/Rose/Paul). Everyone else is debatable after that.
on the last Irving shot, I loved to see how Tony anticipated Irving reversing, stayed closed, and MOVED HIS FEET (fundamental bball, along with HANDS UP) to stay between Irving and the basket. C'etait une clinique pure!
Williams is a question mark to be consistent, but we already know his potential is better than what Irving is now. So he will always be arguable if he manages to get his consistency back.
Curry's better than Irving now too. Yeah, he tweaks his ankle every now and then, but it isn't like he's missing whole seasons or even half seasons. He only missed significant time last year. Otherwise, he hasn't missed 10 games any year. I definitely wouldn't say he's injury prone and worthy of being written out of the discussion bro.
I agree with your definitinive picks though; Rose, Paul, Parker, and Westbrook are all better than Irving now, and should remain so for the forseeable future. As much as I've said Rondo's overrated, he is still a good passer and has developed a bit of a jumpshot now. I would also take him over Irving in most cases. Irving's passing really needs to improve by, I dunno, 50%? before I can really consider him an elite PG. I just think he's good, but not great right now.
He's young though, but I've always disliked the notion that a player will definitely get better "next year", at least when he's not getting back to a status he's already shown, but assuming he'll be better than he's ever been. That doesn't always happen (Beasley, Oden, Chandler took like 7 years to get any good, etc). Once Irving's better than those other PGs, I'll say it. But he is a ways away from being Rose, Paul, Parker, Westbrook, Rondo. Especially in the passing department.
Curry's better on D than Irving and is a better shooter and playmaker. Irving's the better scorer though.
The problem is that he's not even a drive and kick guy like Rose/Westbrook so his stats will always look more like a 2 guard. Especially since he's an above average rebounder for a guard.
I'd go 26-28 ppg with a 26-27 PER.
To me, the real questions are . . .
1. Can he eclipse Paul as the greatest pure PG (in terms of size; I realize he's more shot first) ever? I don't think he ever get's to the level Paul was at from '08-'10, before he injured his knee (few players have and none even close to that size), but if he can get to Paul's current level, with greater longevity at it, then he's got a shot.
2. I know Davis is only 19, but who's the best prospect in the game? I'm leaning Davis, because of his ability to impact the game in more ways, but he'll have to develop into at least a Garnett level offensive player (can't see him ever being a true number one option, like Duncan).
Kyrie's career trajectory seems to be a more efficient Gilbert Arenas rather than a Chris Paul. He's already got a good young core with him, why not try and set them up?
Seriously TIMVP???
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