Former Cavs GM reveals the real reason why Kyrie Irving left for the Celtics last summer by @Ăphso uswor - Post Details
Former Cavs GM reveals the real reason why Kyrie Irving left for the Celtics last summer
Former Cavs GM reveals the real reason why Kyrie Irving left for the Celtics last summer: https://www.givemesport.com/1310510-david-griffin-says-kyrie-irving-left-cavs-for-celtics-because-lebron-james-didnt-need-him. Thanks for watching, subscribe for more videos. Last summer, the biggest NBA story was that of Kyrie Irving and his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade to the Boston Celtics. Ever since then, many have questioned as to why Irving ever wanted to leave The Land in the first place. Most people, despite the reports which have come out, have arrived at the conclusion that the point guard wanted to be the focal point of a team once more, which is what he was building towards before LeBron James' return to Cleveland in 2014. According to former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin, the reason why Irving left the Cavaliers last summer was because he was not allowed to be the Scottie Pippen to LeBron James' Michael Jordan. He believes they could have existed together, but James didn't need him. Griffin said, via The Ringer: "[He] had been carrying the load offensively for a bad team … [but] hadn't been given the opportunity [to lead] yet, and just when we're gonna be good, LeBron shows up and it's his team. So he never got the chance to take the natural progression in his career where he had to try to carry the load and see how good he could be. And he really wanted that." "He'd been doing it on a bad team. He wanted a chance to do it on a good team. And it wasn't about being the man—it's: 'How good can I be? What am I capable of? LeBron can score; he doesn't need me to score. LeBron can make all the passes; he doesn't need me to do that. I'm not a better defender than he is.' "So I think you get to the point where the fit and the need LeBron had for Kyrie wasn't going to allow him to become Scottie because he didn't need Kyrie to fill in the gaps, necessarily. "Now … would it have been better if they could've tricked each other into recognizing, 'Hey, look, just make it until we get to the Finals and then you take over?' Yeah, that would’ve been great, but I just don’t think that’s a very realistic outcome when you’re talking about guys as talented as those guys." Irving has since ended his first season with the Celtics averaging 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. That's even with missing out on the last 15 games of the season due to knee soreness. The Celtics and the Cavaliers will now play against each other in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Game 1 taking place this Sunday. However, the point guard will not be playing after he was ruled him out of the NBA playoffs due to his knee soreness which required surgery. Listen HERE to episode two of the new GiveMeSport NBA podcast, featuring New York Times senior writer Marc Stein. Enjoy, and please subscribe for all future episodes.
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Kobe Bryant pinpoints exactly where Curry is going wrong vs Harden: https://www.givemesport.com/1318917-kobe-bryant-pinpoints-how-steph-curry-needs-to-improve-against-james-harden. Thanks for watching, subscribe for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUJ_qQYuw6B7wLMYeH4Ipew?sub_confirmation=1 One of the key battles of the Western Conference Finals series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets is that of Steph Curry vs James Harden. Despite the series being tied at two apiece, Harden definitely has the upper hand in this personal battle on the court. Harden and Curry may have both managed to get on the scoresheet on Tuesday night in Game 4 with 30 points and 28 points respectively, it's the Rockets star that once again came out on top as his team won the game 95-92 and tied the series at 2-2. The Warriors now must win two of the next three games in order to book their spot in the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year. This has been their most challenging run to the Finals in recent years due to Curry's ongoing battle with Harden. However, the two-time MVP winner has been given some advice on how to handle him by NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Prior to Game 4, Bryant released his newest episode of Detail based on the Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Rockets. He focused on Curry’s defense against Harden and how he needs to “(defend) the ball more aggressively or (have) a clear direction or focus of where (he wants) to push the ball handler.” First off, the Los Angeles Lakers legend suggested that Curry needs to avoid moving closer to Harden when he is on the attack as this will do him no good. He said, via For The Win: “This is a threatening position. They say on those shark shows when the shark’s swimming with his fins down, you know he’s in an attack position. James is not backing this ball up. He’s staying in an attack position here, so you know this is a threatening posture. To move closer to him, does nothing but put us in jeopardy because from here, he’s going to attack.” Secondly, Kobe suggests that Curry needs to pressure Harden into a direction on the court where his Warriors teammates will be able to provide him assistance on defense. “When he’s (Harden) here in this position here, I have to be able to force him. If you drew an imaginary line between me and Iguodala (the closest defender to Curry’s right), that’s the angle where I need to push Harden. I cannot allow him to turn this corner. He dips this shoulder, turns this corner, we’re done. And me trying to hold him there with my right hand, that’s gonna do nothing against this guy. He’s gonna go right through it.” Bryant emphasised that if Curry isn't able to figure this out, the help on the weak side is going to be useless. He needs to stop allowing Harden to turn the corner for an easy route to the basket. “I gotta be able to guard him. These teams need to know they’re not gonna be able to just isolate me and have something positive come out of it. I have to be able to guard this player and force him to help. Not allow him to simply turn the corner and do this. "I need to be able to hold my ground defensively, I have to be mindful of where the help is, and I have to be mindful of how to push the ball handler in the direction of where the help is an #KobeBryant, #pinpoints, #exactly, #whereCurry, #going, #wrong, #Harden #nbaexcmjrelated, #goldenstatewarriorsrelated, #capturesamomentofemotion, #demonstratesourloveofsport, #providesafanseyeview