Kyrie Irving Thread: Why is he so freaking good?

Jamie Foxx wrote:He's the most talented.

KJ MonK wrote:Are Love, Durant, Irving, Paul the only elite players that have a real shooting touch? (can't throw Kobe in with his current 3pt woes)

Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal wrote:: He had the opportunity to be an Olympian last year, but Kyrie Irving passed on playing for Australia to preserve his chance of playing for Team USA in the future. In a few weeks, he’ll get a little closer.

Irving will be one of about two dozen players invited to Las Vegas at the end of July in preparation for the 2014 FIBA World Cup team (formerly known as the FIBA World Championship). No invitations have been formally extended yet, but USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo confirmed in a phone interview on Saturday that Irving will be among those invited.

“You can be assured that he’ll be one of the invitees,” Colangelo said. “He’s already established himself as one of the top three or four point guards in the league.”

The formal invitations will be extended after the season ends, but Irving secured his place with a dazzling performance for the U.S. Select team last summer in Las Vegas. He wowed Colangelo, Team USA coach (and his former college coach) Mike Krzyzewski and a number of Olympians who heaped praise on Irving for his confidence, ball-handling skills and ability to score against the best players in the world.

It has been a dizzying 12 months for Irving, beginning with his Rookie of the Year award, the popularity of his “Uncle Drew” character in the hit PepsiMax series, his success with the Select team in Las Vegas and most recently his 3-point championship and All-Star Game appearance.

“He’s done really well, he’s getting better and better,” Colangelo said. “He’s a great kid and he’s got a great foundation. I told him last summer that he figures prominently in our future.”

The invitation to the four-day camp this summer is the next step in that process. Colangelo wouldn’t go into specific players beyond Irving, but said the foundation of this summer’s player pool will be the majority of players chosen for the U.S. Select team last summer. That team was composed of Irving, DeJuan Blair, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Favors, Paul George, Taj Gibson, Gordon Hayward, Jrue Holiday, Kawhi Leonard, Lance Thomas, Klay Thompson and John Wall.

therealdeal wrote:He hurt his shoulder today. The Cavs are considering shutting him down. He doesn't want to though.

He's really injury prone. Lots of small things that linger and he has to miss handfuls of games. Not good. He's got to get some more muscle on his frame.

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving will miss three to four weeks with a sprained left shoulder after Cavaliers practice on Monday at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Irving suffered a sprained AC (acromioclavicular) when he took a hip check from rookie Jonas Valanciunas with 2:04 left in the third quarter on Sunday in Toronto. X-rays taken in Toronto were negative, but Irving, who had to have help putting a sweatshirt over his head in Toronto after the game, was to have more tests today in Cleveland.

Irving, who broke a bone in his right hand during summer league, has missed 14 games this season, 11 with a fractured left index finger from Nov. 21 to Dec. 8 and three with a sore/hyperextended right knee from Feb. 26 to March 1. He did play through a fractured in his jaw bone in mid-December. He missed 14 games with injuries last season, 10 with a sprained right shoulder, 3 with a concussion and 1 when he was ill. He also sat out the last game of the season.

Irving, who played just 11 games in his only season at Duke because of a toe injury, has missed 29 of 129 games with the Cavs, who are 8-21 without him, including 4-10 this season.