Better performance all-time: Kyrie's 57 or Lebron's 61?

[Fire Colangelo]

Irving.

I was at a bar last night and they had the game on one television where nobody was really paying attention. By the 4th quarter the game was on all the televisions and everybody was watching the game. Every shot Kyrie hit people were going crazy like it was a playoff game lmao. It was almost like playoffs atmosphere

[Dro]

Not the fault of others that you can't obviously see that LeBron has made Kyrie an all-around better player in such a short time.

How has LEBRON made him a better player instead of Kyrie just improving. Please prove this.....I'm not saying he has or he hasn't...

[SugarHill]

[SwishSquared]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but Haberstroh said that all but 2 of Kyrie's FGA were contested last night. He shot 8/8 when defender was 1 foot away and was like 10/12 when defender was 2 feet away. Unreal brilliance. Kyrie was throwing fire balls at the basket last night.

[chazzy]

Not the fault of others that you can't obviously see that LeBron has made Kyrie an all-around better player in such a short time.

Yeah the way Lebron was setting Kyrie up during his 55 point game was unreal, was basically spoonfeeding him every basket.

[RedBlackAttack]

How has LEBRON made him a better player instead of Kyrie just improving. Please prove this.....I'm not saying he has or he hasn't...

Sucks to see such a great performance and game being used by the anti-James crowd against the (admittedly annoying) LeBron stans.

Kyrie has played perfectly off of LeBron all season long. I've watched every Cavs game that KI has ever played. His confidence on this particular team, playing off of LeBron's strengths, has him in a place where he wasn't going to reach just by natural progression.

I'll give you that some of the improvements that people have seen this year is due to him maturing both physically and mentally and just being a more experienced player. But, the attention that LBJ gets from defenses every time he steps on the floor opens the game up for Kyrie (and vice-versa, btw).

Because Kyrie is such a great shooter, it doesn't have to be a "my turn, your turn" situation in isolation. They do some of that, but not totally out of necessity. They do it because they're both so damn good in isolation.

For those of us who've been watching since KI's first game, his gifts have always been totally apparent. However, when he was being asked to be the team's scorer, playmaker and leader, opponents knew where to focus all of their energy.

With LeBron on the same floor and Love to a lesser extent, it becomes impossible to give Kyrie that kind of undivided attention. You saw the results of that last night and it has been on display most of this season.

[Dro]

Sucks to see such a great performance and game being used by the anti-James crowd against the (admittedly annoying) LeBron stans.

Kyrie has played perfectly off of LeBron all season long. I've watched every Cavs game that KI has ever played. His confidence on this particular team, playing off of LeBron's strengths, has him in a place where he wasn't going to reach just by natural progression.

I'll give you that some of the improvements that people have seen this year is due to him maturing both physically and mentally and just being a more experienced player. But, the attention that LBJ gets from defenses every time he steps on the floor opens the game up for Kyrie (and vice-versa, btw).

Because Kyrie is such a great shooter, it doesn't have to be a "my turn, your turn" situation in isolation. They do some of that, but not totally out of necessity. They do it because they're both so damn good in isolation.

For those of us who've been watching since KI's first game, his gifts have always been totally apparent. However, when he was being asked to be the team's scorer, playmaker and leader, opponents knew where to focus all of their energy.

With LeBron on the same floor and Love to a lesser extent, it becomes impossible to give Kyrie that kind of undivided attention. You saw the results of that last night and it has been on display most of this season.

Good analysis. Thank you. repped

[SHAQisGOAT]

Kyrie's performance got freaking crzy at some point... Then those two clutch buckets and the OT, shit...

[oarabbus]

Whomever had the better competition had the better performance, IMO.

Agreed, Elgin Baylor 61 in the finals against the legend Bill Russell >>>> Jordan's 63 requiring 2OT. It's not even close.

[CavaliersFTW]

Agreed, Elgin Baylor 61 in the finals against the legend Bill Russell >>>> Jordan's 63 requiring 2OT. It's not even close.

Not to mention he was guarded by Satch Sanders, a top 3 defensive forward of the entire 1960's decade (Satch Sanders, Gus Johnson, and Dave DeBusschere are the three forwards that played the best defense in that decade).

[J Shuttlesworth]

How has LEBRON made him a better player instead of Kyrie just improving. Please prove this.....I'm not saying he has or he hasn't...

I mean RBA answered it well, but it's only natural that a player will get better looks when they are no longer the primary focus from the opponent's defense. Wade/Bosh's efficiency skyrocketed playing with LeBron because they were able to pick their spots instead of being relied on to put up 25 a game. In general, playing with a great playmaker will get you good looks. Mozgov, Smith, and Shumpert are also getting great looks and having good seasons.

[Dro]

I mean RBA answered it well, but it's only natural that a player will get better looks when they are no longer the primary focus from the opponent's defense. Wade/Bosh's efficiency skyrocketed playing with LeBron because they were able to pick their spots instead of being relied on to put up 25 a game. In general, playing with a great playmaker will get you good looks. Mozgov, Smith, and Shumpert are also getting great looks and having good seasons.

I agree with you, Lebron's presence has really opened the floor for Kyrie.

[ArbitraryWater]

OP, cmon... This is Kyrie, no questions asked.

[Solefade]

Irving's obviously and I'm team LeBron