Kyrie Irving had his breakout 2014-15 season cut short in the worst time of all: The NBA Finals. It seems like that time missed season ending injury will also be carried into the 2015-16 season. According to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, Irving will likely not be ready for the season opener against the Chicago Bulls, and may not be ready to play until January.
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“Multiple league sources say his rehabilitation is going smoothly, but that the chances are slim of him being in the opening-night lineup against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 27. One source said he could very well be unavailable up until January.
When the three-time All-Star underwent surgery in early June, his recovery time was set at 3-4 months. Assuming he is sidelined outside of that four-month window, the thinking is that it would have everything to do with the Cavaliers being patient and cautious rather than the injury not healing.”
At a basketball camp held by Irving, the star guard didn’t put a timetable on his return.
“I’m honestly not putting a date on anything. People are going to put a date regardless. I’m just continuing to be on the journey I’ve been on, and that’s continuing to get better every single day and rehabbing my leg.”
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Just two weeks ago, Irving was already on the courts getting shots up, according to Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.
Kyrie Irving getting up shots. pic.twitter.com/6htabHhze4
— Steve Aschburner (@AschNBA) August 11, 2015
In his four-year career, Kyrie Irving has never played a full, 82-game season. The closest he came was 75 this season, and then he still had to miss seven crucial games in the postseason against the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and Golden State Warriors due to injuries.
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The Cavs addition of Mo Williams this offseason looks even greater with the news that Irving could miss time until January while the re-signing of Matthew Dellavedova to another deal will be very helpful as well. We all know what Delly can do for you as a scrappy and hard-nosed defender who can knock down threes and hit some timely shots, as shown in the 2015 postseason. Mo Williams is another huge addition to the Cavs after showing that he’s still a scoring machine to be dealt with after putting up 52 points in a road game last season against one of the NBA’s best defenses in Indiana.
The Cavs are clearly not going to rush back their future franchise player, so allowing Irving to fully recover from this injury and look at the big big picture that is an NBA Championship is the main goal. There’s always the chance that Irving returns at his 3-4 month timetable, but with Mo Williams on deck, Irving should take as much time as he needs to get back to 100%.
