After a hard earned victory last night in Toronto, the Golden State Warriors will be in Cleveland tonight to take on a gritty Cavaliers team (tip off 4:00 p.m. PT) that is led by the incomparable Kyrie Irving.

Let’s get it out of the way from the get go: he might just be the most entertaining scoring point guard in the NBA.

With Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose both injured, the title of best point guard in the Eastern Conference has to reside with the former Blue Devil who has been nothing short of sensational this season.

His ball handling, shooting and ability to dissect defenses make him incredibly difficult to stop.

Irving can pretty much get to any point on the court that he wishes to get to and from there he has to ability to pull up for the jumper and drain it over frustrated defenders or simply breakdown defenders off the bounce and get all the way to the rim. MySynergySports tells us that the Duke product is converting 50.5 percent of his field goal attempts in isolation situations, and 46.3 percent of his 3-point shots in isos.

The Cavs’ star point guard essentially toys with defenders because of his ability not only to blow by them — ask Dwight about that — but also finish with either hand around the basket even if big men are waiting for him there.

Opposing defenses have a tough time defending him on every area of the court because he has developed an understanding of how to take advantage of the multiple schemes in teams’ game plans. For instance, in the pick-and-roll, he can easily split the trap and get into the lane to create some havoc for his opponents.

Mind you, if the opposition chooses to hedge hard on him, he can pull the extra defender far enough to open up the court and find the open man for a high percentage shot.

But if the defender gets a little lazy and waits for him at the free throw line in pick-and-roll defense, good luck. Irving will either fire away from 3-point range or step inside it and take a shot from about 16-to-23 feet, which he is hitting 49 percent of the time per Hoopdata.

Given that the reigning Player of the Week has all of these scoring tools at his disposal, he tends to attract a lot of attention and thus can feed his teammates for open shots whenever extra defenders converge on him.

This in essence explains why the Cavaliers are such a better offensive unit whenever Irving is healthy and on the court playing.

NBA.com’s advanced stats tool tells us that Cleveland scores 102.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the court, but sees the figure plummet to 95 points per 100 possessions whenever he is off it. For comparison’s sake, the Washington Wizards produce 95.2 points per 100 possessions.

In addition, he’s every bit as good in the clutch and also manages to get the team to raise its play in such situations. So far this year, the Cavaliers have the 11^th best offensive efficiency in clutch situations (defined as last five minutes of the game with scoring margin within five points) because their point guard has simply been brilliant down the stretch of games.

According to NBA.com’s advanced stats tool, Irving is second in total clutch scoring this season, and if we project his total over 36 minutes, he’s averaging 39.5 points on 46.9 percent field goal shooting.

It goes without saying that a matchup involving Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving would simply be a joy to watch and could even give us a glimpse into a possible alternate future where the NBA has multiple great shooters at the point guard position.

Sadly, with Curry twisting his right ankle last night in Toronto, he is listed as day-to-day, which leads us to believe it’s quite possible he will be absent from tonight’s contest.

Nonetheless, Irving promises to make this contest interesting.

Quick update: Stephen Curry is listed as questionable for this contest and Kyrie Irving is as well (sick) after missing the morning shootaround.

Statistical support provided by NBA.com.

Questions or comments? Feel free to leave them in the comments section or you can contact me by email at [email protected].

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Game Details

• Tip Off: 7:30 p.m.
• Television: CSN-BA

Team Profile

Leaders

• Points: Kyrie Irving, 23.8 PPG
• Rebounds: Anderson Varejao, 15.0 RPG
• Assists: Kyrie Irving, 6.0 APG
• Blocks: Anderson Varejao, 0.8 BPG
• Steals: Alonzo Gee, 1.5 SPG
• Field goal percentage: Anderson Varejao, 65.8% FG
• 3-point field goal percentage: Dion Waiters, 55.0% 3PT FG

Scope the Opposition: Cavs the Blog.
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Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

Carmelo Anthony must hate living in LeBron James’ shadow.

Sounds like a hyperbolic statement and yet it is true in so many ways when we look at their respective careers and what they have meant to each other.

Carmelo was terrific high school prospect who got himself noticed and eventually landed at Syracuse university. In his freshman season, he dominated the NCAA tournament and helped Jim Boeheim earn his one and only national championship. Anthony’s scoring prowess as well as his rebounding ability made him a tough cover for just about every other player at the collegiate level.

While Carmelo was busy gathering some attention in the NCAA, a high school player in the state of Ohio was busy dominating the headlines thanks in large part to his size, strength, charisma and more so than anything; his basketball talent. LeBron James was such an impressive high school player that some of his games were actually televised before a national audience. The Akron native could do it all: score, rebound, play physical, throw it down and entertain. Even more impressive, he seemed to get it.
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Golden State Warriors

105

Final Recap | Box Score

95

Cleveland Cavaliers

	David Lee, PF 35 MIN | 13-20 FG | 3-4 FT | 9 REB | 3 AST | 29 PTS | -3 David Lee is easily the Warriors most consistent player on both ends of the floor. With Stephen Curry out, David Lee has proved he can score in multiple ways. Pump fakes and drives, back to the basket and spot up shots were all shown in Cleveland tonight. Unlike other games where Lee has faded in the 4th quarter, Lee was dominant on both ends of the floor in the 4th. His impressive stat line is one thing, but carrying his team to victory is something not seen in the box score.
	Dorell Wright, SF 23 MIN | 4-11 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 10 PTS | 0 Dorell was aggressive early as he drove quickly to the hole on the Warriors very first possession. Dorell was his usual self on the defensive end with rebounds and pressure on Casspi and Jamison. Coach Jackson preferred Dominic McGuire and Brandon Rush in the second half as the starters as a whole were struggling. While his stat lines won’t show it yet Dorell is slowly regaining his 2010 form.
	Andris Biedrins, C 23 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 11 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | +18 Andris was once again playing his usual role of the Invisible Man as he was subbed out for Ekpe Udoh rather quickly into the game. Varejao and Erdin easily got the best of both Warriors centers this game. Both Biedrins and Udoh were statues on the offensive en d. Biedrins did manage to grab some key rebounds in the 4th quarter however that gave the Warriors extra possessions. The Biedrins/Udoh platoon is surely not highlight material, but they’re not asked to be one either.
	Monta Ellis, SG 32 MIN | 2-12 FG | 6-8 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 10 PTS | +3 Monta was cold early and often as the Cavs pressured him constantly with warranted double teams. As a result, Monta reverted to feeding others by driving and kicking out to open shooters. He started 0-6 and didn’t get his basket until 3:21 left in the half. Monta was subject to Coach Jackson’s massive subs in the 2nd half. Only 2-12 with 10 points in the game, Monta was a game manager instead of his usual game changer mentality.
	Charles Jenkins, G 12 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -7 Jenkins was issued the toughest task of the night: guarding rookie star Kyrie Irving. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Jenkins got injured in the 1st quarter. Jenkins returned in the 2nd half and played significant minutes with the starters on the bench. Jenkins forced Irving into missing shots and Jenkins pressured him into some turnovers. Jenkins has also showed the ability to hit a consistent jumper to add to his already aggressive offensive repertoire.

Three Things We Saw

1. The Cavaliers are no pushovers. The 26 game losing streak that haunted them last season is long gone and the Cavs are building a good young core. Kyrie Irving is playing like a top 5 point guard right now and is the new face of the franchise. Combine Irving and promising big man Tristan Thompson and you have a good beginning to a long rebuilding process.
2. The Warriors forced Cleveland into 23 turnovers. Contributions from both the bench and the starters were evident in this department. Active hands, great rotations and a belief in Coach Jackson’s system has drastically improved the Warriors defense this season. In this shortened season there is very little practice time, so it’s important and impressive to see these changes in-game.
3. It sounds simple but when the bench plays like they did tonight the Warriors will always have a chance to win. Nate Robinson has become the clear leader coming off the bench and has proven to be a very reliable shooter from beyond the arc (3-5). Klay Thompson played well also, shooting a perfect 4-4 from three point range. While Dominic McGuire is a liability on the offensive end his defensive presence is a welcome sight for the Warriors. Brandon Rush has also proven to be a well-rounded scorer and defender, a great asset to have coming off the bench.

Grades by Jordan Ramirez