May 21, 2013

NBA News: Kyrie Irving to miss 3-to-4 weeks with shoulder sprain

March 11, 2013 by 21 Comments

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced that further test results on the shoulder of All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving resulted in a left AC (acromioclavicular) sprain as a result from his collision with Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas in Sunday night’s loss. Irving will undergo a period of rest and treatment and is currently projected to miss the next three-to-four weeks of action.

Following the collision, which was deemed a foul, Irving shot both free throws one-handed, and went to the locker room and did not return.

“It feels like crap,” Irving said of his shoulder following the game. ”I have been hit that way a lot of times, but I have never had a feeling like this. It is what it is.”

 There are five weeks of regular season play remaining as the Cavs wrap things up at home against the Miami Heat on April 15 and in Charlotte against the Bobcats on the April 17.

Irving, the reigning Rookie of the Year, was averaging 23 points and six assists this season, ranking 13th in PER (22.2). He missed time earlier this season with a fractured finger as well as a hyper-extended knee. At Monday’s practice, Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott affirmed his belief that Irving’s injuries are “freakish” and not chronic nor due to his style of play, adding that Irving — due to his age — still has physical development and growth ahead of him.

Veteran point guard Shaun Livingston is expected to start in Irving’s place with rookie guard Dion Waiters taking on the bulk of the scoring load.

[Related: Cavalier Film Room: Team Defense Fueling An Improbable Win]

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  • thenoclist

    Man the tanks

  • http://twitter.com/GreatestHurley Jason Hurley

    …when do they stop becoming freak injuries and we realize that he’s just injury prone

  • mgbode

    when they happen in a season where we are trying to win games at the end rather than lose them (agreed that he is injury-prone though)

  • architrance

    Well, wave goodbye to my fantasy championship :X

  • BenRM

    This is why we can’t have nice things. /sigh

  • Harv 21

    head, shoulders knees and toes … ok, pretty clear this guy just has a 50-60 game/year body. Because of his all-star level of play, the Cavs will have to live with it and address the roster accordingly.

    We can start by signing Livingston. And give Waiters some strong encouragement to add muscle himself, because in the coming years he’ll be doing his share of running the offense and banging off guys on drives to the hole. Actually, if we’re looking for hidden blessings, I think Waiters will thrive with more responsibility thrust upon him. He’s just got that swag.

  • thenoclist

    Not sure we can judge he’s only a 50/60 game guy after his second season in the league.

  • Harv 21

    oh, no, when he breaks a digit slapping a mat in frustration, breaks a nose and a toe, , etc. … some great athletes just don’t have bodies that can withstand a typical professional-level pounding. Should make us appreciate the fairly indestructible slab of marble that is LeBron James. But for a handful of games for generic high ankle sprains that mysterious and brief elbow issue, he is Zeus.

  • Harv 21

    Maybe not, but maybe it’ll be even fewer games and the 20 year old Kyrie is at his sturdiest. It’s the fact that it’s every part of his body, the variety of ailments and he’s not yet played an entire season since high school that makes me believe this.

  • thenoclist

    Fair enough, I’m not ready to make that kind of proclamation until the same thing happens for the next 2 seasons at least.

  • Jaker

    Is anyone else getting worried?

  • Steve

    So he has to get hurt five years a in a row before you call him injury prone?

  • Steve

    Has anyone else been worried?

    I’m interested to see what this roster can do defensively with Irving out. If there is improvement made, hopefully the tape will be enough of a kick in the rear to get Irving to get it together on that end.

    Otherwise, you have to hope you get Noel and he can cover for the mistakes on the perimeter.

  • thenoclist

    Maybe not 5 but he has to show a pattern of injuries through more than his first season and a half in the NBA. If he plays 82 games next year are we still going to call him injury prone because he was hurt a lot his first 2 years?

  • gct

    “You know why, David? Because of the kids. They called me Mr. Glass.”
    - Kyrie Irving

  • Steve

    He got hurt in college too. We’re working on three years now of a pattern.

    What if Irving misses the entire next season? Then will you call highly unlikely hypotheticals a completely useless task?

  • Wow

    This is why I hate when guys jump into defenders to draw contact. I’m looking at you Dwayne Wade.

  • The_Real_Shamrock

    I was thinking the same thing about LBJ who is a physical specimen.

  • http://www.facebook.com/michael.cotleurtakeuchi Michael Cotleur-Takeuchi

    Heh, same here. I took him in the 1st round…

  • thenoclist

    Uh yeah sure. Let’s do that then

  • steve-o

    Relax people. It’s just a shoulder sprain that will heal completely. It happened on a fluke play because Kyrie got nailed by a big dude. It’s not like he has a chronic knee problem that will never go away. That being said the young man should seriously attack those weights in the off-season if he wants to avoid being knocked around so easily.
    As far as this season is concerned, it’s time to shut Kyrie down. No reason to risk the franchise on a lost season. Especially while we’re locked in a battle for what looks like an extremely volatile lottery position (the difference from 3-10 could be a couple games).