Factory Of Sadness
FanSided

Kyrie Irving Injury: Fair To Play The Blame Game?

By Nick Dudukovich

facebooktwitterreddit

Jun 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Leandro Barbosa (19) during the second quarter in game one of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

With the recent Kyrie Irving injury dominating the 2015 NBA Finals headlines, the news cycle has reached the point where blame is starting to be thrown around.

Troll king Skip Bayless wants to blame LeBron James, for not making a last-second shot that would’ve given the Cavs the win. A conversion there would’ve meant no overtime, and no injury.

That’s a hot take fans shouldn’t be surprised to come from the Twitter account of Bayless, who continued to troll James’ ability to knock down last-second shots.

Fellow ESPN loudmouth Stephen A. Smith used his hot take to burn Cavaliers coach David Blatt.

Idiocy? Really, Stephen A?

Irving was playing in his first NBA Finals game, and he was marvelous. He was getting it done on the offensive side, while making life difficult for Stephen Curry on the other end. Every expert predicted the Cavs would hide Kyrie on defense during the series.

Instead, Irving came up with a couple of great steals, including a memorable block on Curry near the end of regulation.

ESPN Pardon the Interruption host Michael Wilbon even jumped on this hot take railroad by stating he believes Irving played too much.

If Irving was healthy enough to play, he was healthy enough to play the the minutes he did. How anyone could argue that is insane. But insane sports arguments are what Bayless, Stephen A., and even Wilbon get paid for. Mission accomplished.

Looking away from the ESPN machine, there’s may also be some blame coming from Irving’s camp.

Rumors are running rampant that Irving’s dad, and his agent, are miffed the Cavs rushed back their superstar, despite the franchise’s five-year, $90 million commitment to the All-Star, via Brian Windhorst:

"“Drederick (Irving), (Agent Jeff) Wechsler and several of Irving’s friends gathered outside the Cavs locker room and began talking with emotion about the situation. Wechsler pulled Cavs general manager David Griffin aside to discuss it.There’s been some tension between these two sides for weeks now. Irving’s father and Wechsler, sources said, have been preaching caution with Irving and this knee issue. Naturally, they are focused on his long-term health and have concern that playing on a weakened knee — what the Cavs have said publicly was a bad case of tendinitis — could put him at risk of suffering a greater injury. Going to see Andrews was part of the entire group’s efforts to get a full handle on what Irving was facing and get independent advice on the situation.”"

This is the Finals. This is what you play for, and the stakes are high. If you can play, you play. The Cavs are invested in Kyrie and if he can play, he owes it to the team to be on the court.

Irving’s knee injury will continue to be a polarizing topic, as long as the former No. 1 overall pick is on crutches.

Next: Kyrie Irving Can't Shake Injury-Prone Label

More from Factory of Sadness

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers