Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving to miss the rest of season - NBA Update
Cleveland Cavaliers are not ready to take any risks with their sensational rookie Kyrie Irving.
The 20 year old point guard suffered a contusion earlier last month during the game against San Antonio Spurs. After going through MRI, he was scheduled to undergo a period of treatment followed by rehabilitation. He was initially projected to be sidelined for 10 days but now it seems that he will be missing the rest of season.
Byron Scott, the head coach, has taken a cautious approach as far as Irving’s return is concerned;
"We do not want to have a setback going into the summer where he has to rest for three or four weeks and not be able to participate in some of the things we want him to participate in," Scott said. "I might be overly cautious with this right now, but it's in his best interest."
Scott had already made a blunder by allowing Irving a game against the San Antonio Spurs last week, one in which the rookie aggravated his shoulder injury. When asked at that about his course of action regarding Irving, Scott had given a clear indication;
“We’ll see how he reacts in the next four or five days, with treatment and rest and we’ll go from there,” Scott said. “But yeah, I’ve given thought to it. I’ll be honest with you, I’ve definitely given thought to it.”
Irving, was brought into the franchise as the number one draft pick and together with Tristan Thompson, he was supposed to start a rebuilding process.
Irving showed signs of brilliance this season and in 46 games, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 assists and 3.9 rebounds. He was awarded the rookie of the month award for December, January, February and March and even though he won’t be able to finish the season, Irving is a clear favourite for the rookie of the year award this season.
The Cavs are no longer in the post season contention and clearly need some more firepower. Part of it has been due to the injuries, Anderson Varejao hasn’t played since early February, Antawn Jamison is nearing the end of his contract and will want to leave and the rest of the Cavaliers cast is way too inconsistent. So, it seems only appropriate to be extra careful with the guys who is billed to be the face of the franchise in future.
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