CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When the Cavaliers drew the Golden Ping Pong Ball in the NBA lottery, 18-year-old LeBron James promised to turn the city into Las Vegas by the Lake. It didn't happen. Neither did the long basketball Dark Ages his desertion seemed to portend. This time, no one is calling Kyrie Irving, 19, also delivered via a draft lottery ping pong ball, a savior. Few are checking off "youngest to this or that" milestones for him. The Cavs this season are not on ESPN, TNT or ABC, an alphabet of network disinterest.
Mostly, Irving has been nationally noticed only when he has been spectacular. He made a last-gasp, weaving, left-handed layup that finished the recent comeback at Boston and then a jack-knifing righty slash for the final basket Saturday against NBA champion Dallas.
Irving is ambidextrous around the rim, but so was James. In the latter's case, having his choice of weapons was a big advantage, albeit one increasingly negated in the biggest games by his fear of failure. This was evident both in the end of the Boston series with the Cavs in 2010 and in the closing moments of the NBA Finals games vs. Dallas in 2011.
For his part, Irving did not let a miss on a potential game-winning drive in his third game, at Indiana, leave him discouraged when it came to taking more such shots. "You can't be afraid down the stretch of games. The only time I'm nervous is if I'm unprepared. I practice those shots every day," said Irving. "If you miss, it's just basketball. It's just a game."
"It shows how good Kyrie is," says coach Byron Scott. "A lot of point guards in this league, because of the [hectic] schedule, are just now finding their rhythm. This kid came in here and, after struggling his first week [2-for-12 in his first game vs. Toronto, 8-for-19 in the Indiana contest], has just shown such a great feel and talent for the game."
Rookie teen-aged point guards generously listed at 6-3, like Irving, don't shoot 50 percent one-third of the way through this year's frantic NBA schedule. Going into Tuesday's game at Miami against James and the Dancing BTUs, Irving's body of work so far has been startling. In the categories relevant to scoring and shooting efficiency, Irving has it all over James in his 2003-04 rookie season. Irving has played 22 games, double the amount he played after being hobbled by a toe injury in his lone season at Duke.
What really jumps out at the same point in each player's rookie season is that, in 52 fewer shots, Irving is scoring more than James. Irving is more efficient at ambidextrously "finishing" drives with a lethal crossover dribble, explosive quickness and mid-air body control. But he can also put the ball in the basket at mid-range, at the line, and at long range.
It is tough to decide whether Irving or James was drafted by the weaker team. James joined a team that had been 17-65. Irving joined one that went 19-63, with a record 26-game losing streak. That's a virtual push. Irving's assists aren't as high as James' were eight years ago. But he does not monopolize the ball as much, either.
It's unlikely Irving will wind up scoring 41 points and taking 29 shots to do so, as did James in one game when he was Rookie of the Year. But Irving will not be reticent when the big shot comes along, either.
"He's not afraid to take the big shot and not afraid to be the goat," said Scott. All players want to make the big shot. But if they miss it, the best players will still take the next one, undiscouraged by a disobedient bounce, undiminished by momentary failure.