Tyronn Lue ‘very surprised’ Kyrie Irving didn’t make All-NBA team
Tyronn Lue thinks the All-NBA teams this year fell a little flat.
Before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach was asked if he was surprised that Cavs guard Kyrie Irving wasn’t selected for All-NBA honors.
“Yeah, very surprised,” said Lue, according to Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Just because of the year he’s had and all the injuries that we had, him and LeBron [James] carried this team for most of the season with Kevin [Love] and J.R. [Smith] being out. I thought it was a tough decision, but just part of how things go.”
Irving averaged 25.2 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting from the field and 90.5 percent from the line in 2016-17 (all career-highs). He also managed a respectable 5.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. But the point guard position is arguably the deepest it has ever been — Stephen Curry was relegated to Second Team All-NBA honors this year, and Damian Lillard, who had a better season than Irving in just about every major statistical category, didn’t make the cut either. So while this may be another instance of standing up for your own guys, it’s hard to make the argument that Irving was “snubbed” this year.
