Larry Brown Sports

The BBVA Rising Stars Challenge in Houston on Friday was the usual low-effort, high-scoring affair we have come to expect from an all-star game. However, things got extremely interesting late in the game when Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight decided to turn things into a personal game of one-on-one.

The two went after each other a few possessions in a row with about six minutes left in the game. Though Knight did his best to hang in there, he got absolutely embarrassed by Irving, who broke out some filthy moves that left Knight tripping over himself. To his credit, Knight came back down the floor and got Irving back with a crossover, but Kyrie won that battle overall.

Crazy handles and the ability to finish with both hands like that helped make Irving Rookie of the Year last season.

Kyrie Irving’s game on the floor is developing nicely, but his pimpology off of it needs some work. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year had to do some damage control on Twitter after a picture of him with his arms around two girls appeared online for a brief period early Christmas morning.

Our friend Stiletto Jill snagged it while it was up, and she says it was posted to his Instagram account.

@msareolabrown twitter.com/StilettoJill/s…

— Jill Munroe (@StilettoJill) December 25, 2012

The photo was quickly deleted, but Irving acted swiftly as if he had been busted and began trying to clean up his tracks. The Cavaliers guard tweeted the following messages:

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Kobe Bryant has heard it all. When you’re a five-time NBA champion who has played in the league for 16 years, nothing new can really be thrown at you. At Team USA’s Summer Olympics training camp recently, former Duke standout Kyrie Irving tried to lay a challenge on Kobe that he hasn’t heard before by betting him $50,000 he can beat the 14-time All-Star in a game of one-on-one. To his credit, Irving is probably the first 20-year-old to challenge the future Hall of Famer with that kind of cash on the line. Naturally, Kobe laughed at the 20-year-old’s delusional suggestion.

“This is not a high school kid coming to you — ‘Kobe, Kobe, oh my God!’” Irving said as you can see from the DukeBluePlanet.com video that Ball Don’t Lie passed along. “This is me, coming to talk to you, one-on-one.”

“You just came out of high school, kid!” Kobe replied. “You played two games in college. You played two games. You are a high school kid.”

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Kyrie Irving seems to be living up to his status as the top overall draft pick, but the rookie point guard’s poor defense has been a concern for Cavs head coach Byron Scott the entire season. Kyrie’s defense was so bad Friday against the Bulls (who were playing without MVP Derrick Rose), that the coach had a meeting with his point guard Saturday.

“If you can’t get stops it doesn’t matter what you are doing offensively because sooner or later you’re going to cool down,” Scott said.

“You know like he says the turnovers start with him? nThe defense starts with him as well,” the Cavs coach explained. “He’s the head of the snake and I know it’s a lot of responsibility for a 19-year-old but it is what it is and he’s got to do a better job and he’s aware of it.”

Scott said the defensive lapses have kept Irving, who’s averaging 27.9 minutes per game, from playing more. The former Duke point guard is taking the criticism quite well.

“He’s a defensive-minded coach and he was a defensive-minded player,” Irving said. “I kind of appreciate him giving it to me like that because I do have to get better. It’s all about what my man is doing. I take full responsibility for it.”

It’s the right attitude to have, but now Irving needs to take the important step of improving on defense. He’s only 19 years old, so he has plenty of time to get better.

Chest bump to Eye on Basketball

Normally when people talk about the NBA lockout it’s to complain or talk about certain players’ sob stories from their days of unemployment and boredom. In other instances, we have seen players making good use of their time.  Guys like Anthony Randolph decided to go back to school while Gordon Hayward had some fun joining a video game league.  Two Duke alumni, Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith, visited their alma mater on Tuesday night and brought some added excitement to a group that rarely needs it — the Cameron Crazies.  Check out this video from DukeBluePlanet that The Dagger shared with us:

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Thursday’s NBA draft was both exhilarating and head-scratching. Some players went higher than expected (ahem, Iman Shumpert). Others fell far, to teams that never expected to grab them (Chris Singleton and the Wizards, for instance).

It’s too early to tell which of these players will reach their potential and which ones will veer off the tracks in an Adam Morrison-like train crash. Like an overwrought episode of Franklin & Bash, it’ll take a while for the basketball community to reach its final verdicts.

In the meantime, here’s a quick pick-by-pick analysis of each player taken in this year’s lottery and how they fit with their new team:

1. Kyrie Irving (PG) – Cleveland

The look on Irving’s agent’s face when Irving’s name was called No. 1 was priceless. Turns out Cleveland had kept them in the dark all week long. Not a promise (despite there being word of a promise). Not a hint. Nothing. When you heard “Kyrie Irving to the Cleveland Cavaliers,” that’s the first time he heard it too. I’m sure Irving’s agent will remind Cavs executives of this in a few years when it comes time to sign an extension. In the meantime, Irving will be asked to keep the Cavs afloat with a nucleus of Baron Davis, AndersonVarejao, J.J. Hickson and Tristan Thompson. No easy feat. Let’s hope Dan Gilbert isn’t thinking playoffs any time soon.

2. Derrick Williams (PF) - Minnesota

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Kyrie Irving became the top overall pick in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland had one of the worst teams in the League, a year after having the best regular season record. Their dropoff was the result of losing LeBron James to Miami. The Cavs got lucky by winning the lottery which gave them the first and fourth picks in the draft. Irving will be viewed as the team’s next franchise player, resulting in immense pressure. That was the role LeBron James used to have for Cleveland. Thankfully, neither Irving nor Derrick Williams wants to follow his model:

When both players gave their answers, they weren’t taking shots at LeBron. Rather, they were responding to questions from reporters looking to hear their thoughts. Kyrie gave the obvious answer, saying he’s not anything like LeBron as a player. Williams’ reply seemed to revolve around the reputation James has developed. Both are wise to distance themselves from James; not only did he upset the city of Cleveland, but turning the Cavs into one of the best teams in the NBA the way James did is unlikely.