How Cleveland has performed without Kyrie Irving during the playoffs
...the Cavaliers' first five hasn't been totally crippled when he's been off the court. A huge chunk of the credit for this goes to James, who has an uncanny ability to put his teammates in a position to succeed. To wit, a whopping 89% of Dellavedova's three-pointers during the playoffs have been assisted. A good chunk of his life on offense resembles a Three-Point Contest in which James's assists, or hockey assists, serve as his ball rack.
From "LeBron, Cavaliers face daunting Finals challenge without Kyrie Irving" by Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated.While Ben Golliver does a good job of highlighting how good the Cleveland Cavaliers can be without Kyrie Irving, he also notes that the way the Golden State Warriors were able to defend LeBron James without doubling limits the potential for players like Matthew Dellavedova to beat them from the 3-point line.
For more thoughts on how the Cavs will adjust, check out our Kyrie Irving injury storystream.