Preface
This season, the Dallas Mavericks once again faced last year's predicament, Kyrie Irving's injury made the team's offensive end, had to rely too much on Luka Doncic, but fortunately, Irving's timely return helped the team get on the right track, and finally ranked fifth in the West, and is about to meet the old rival Los Angeles Clippers again in the playoffs. Averaging 25.6 points, 5 rebounds, 5.2 assists per game, and the efficiency of the "180" club, this is the 32-year-old Irving's stats this season, he has played the role of the second leader perfectly, whether the Mavericks can break out of the West this year, Irving's play may be the decisive factor.
Looking back at Irving's performance in the playoffs over the past few years, he has always been a competent second-in-command, especially in the 15-16 season, when the Cavaliers were able to win the championship, and without Irving's performance in key moments, he would not have succeeded. So let's go back to the 2016 playoffs and see how Irving fared!
Eastern First Round: Cavaliers 4:0 Pistons
Irving stats: 27.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals
First of all, it was the first round of the East that year, the Cavaliers, who ranked first in the East, faced the eighth Pistons team, the core of the Pistons team at that time was Andre Drummond, in addition to Tobias Harris, Reggie Jackson and others, the difference in strength between the two teams is very obvious, especially the guard line, almost no one can match Irving. In the first game, Irving scored 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, especially in the last 5 minutes, he scored 7 points on outside shots, helping the team extinguish the momentum of the Pistons' comeback.
In the second game, the Cavaliers showed great dominance, and Irving easily scored 22 points to help the Cavaliers beat the Pistons by 17 points. The Pistons who returned to their home court were desperate to get one back, but the difference in strength between the two teams was really too large, so in the third game, Irving scored 26 points again, and the Cavaliers also scored three consecutive cities, forcing the Pistons into a desperate situation.
The Pistons have been biting the score in the fourth game, Morris and Harris both scored 20+, and the performance of Love and James on the Cavaliers' side was relatively average, but Irving became Mr. Key again, scoring 31 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, and finally helped the Cavaliers beat the Pistons by 2 points and successfully swept the opponent to advance.
Eastern Conference Semifinals: Cavaliers 4-0 Hawks
Irving stats: 21.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals
During his time with LeBron James, Irving rarely performed too well in stats other than points and assists, but it proved that he was a dangerous scorer.
In the second round, the Cavaliers defeated the Hawks, the old rival of the Eastern Conference Finals the previous year, and this time the Cavaliers still defeated the opponent in a sweeping form. Against the fully healthy Cavaliers triumvirate, the Hawks struggled to find a way to limit the Cavaliers' scoring, and as a result, they were blown up by James, Irving and Love.
In the first game, Irving easily scored 21 points and eight assists, and together with James, he connected the team's offensive line and helped the Cavaliers beat the Hawks by 11 points. The second game was even more brutal, with the Cavaliers building a huge 36-point lead in the first half alone, and Irving played only 23 minutes to grab 19 points, two rebounds and six assists to help the Cavaliers win comfortably.
After arriving in Atlanta, the Hawks came back in the third game and stretched the deficit to eight points in the first half. However, the Cavaliers woke up in the second half, beating the Hawks by 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Irving, James and Frye combined for 33 points in this quarter, and the offensive firepower was very ferocious.
In the last game, the Cavaliers were almost overturned by the Hawks, but fortunately, the Big Three combined for 69 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists, and in the end, the Cavaliers also held on to a slight lead, winning the game by only 1 point and successfully sweeping the Hawks.
Eastern Conference Finals: Cavaliers 4:2 Raptors
Irving stats: 24.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals
The opponent of the Eastern Conference Finals was the Raptors, who had repeatedly lost to the Cavaliers, and Irving showed a more consistent performance against Kyle Lowry, who was also a starting All-Star in the East.
In the first game, the Raptors were in no shape, Lowry only scored 8 points on 4-of-14 shooting, and Irving was almost not too limited under his defense, easily cutting down 27 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists, in addition to 2 steals and 2 blocks on the defensive end, the Cavaliers also beat the opponent by 31 points. The second game almost replicated the process of the first game, and the Raptors still did not find a way to crack the Cavaliers, and on the Cavaliers' side, in addition to Irving's 26 points, James contributed 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Cavaliers also won ten consecutive playoff games.
However, the Raptors who returned to their home court finally woke up, especially the "garbage brothers" of DeRozan and Lowry, who combined for 52 and 67 points respectively, while Irving only scored 39 points in these two games, and finally the Raptors tied the score strongly.
When it came to the battle of Tianwang Mountain, the game completely entered a one-sided situation, the Cavaliers scored 71 points, while the Raptors performed as a team, only scored 78 points, and finally lost the game in disgrace. The Cavaliers also took advantage of the momentum, Irving scored 30 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists in the sixth game, James cut 33 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, plus Love 20 points and 12 rebounds, the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors again and advanced to the Finals for the second consecutive year.
Finals: Cavaliers 4:3 Warriors
Irving stats: 27.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals
As the team's second-in-command, Irving played an epic performance, looking at the entire NBA history, even compared with Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen and other predecessors, Irving's performance is not inferior at all. Throughout the series, facing the only MVP winner in history, Steve Curry, Irving not only handed over beautiful statistics, but also reached a good "180" club efficiency.
Despite losing the first game, Irving still had 26 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and his impact on the basket made it difficult for the Warriors on the defensive end. The second game was the Cavaliers' worst game of the series, with the team scoring only 77 points, a 33-point bloodbath by the Warriors, and Irving scoring only 10 points.
However, after returning to the home court, the Cavaliers began to work hard, while James slashed 32 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, Irving also went all out to get 30 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists to help the team pull back a game.
Although he lost again in Game 4, Irving still contributed 34 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and the Warriors had nothing to do with him. Game 5 was destined to go down in history, as Irving and James both scored 41 points, becoming the only pair in NBA history to score and help the team start a Jedi counterattack. In Game 6 at the Cavaliers' last home court, the whole team was united, and James blasted 41 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists, like a king in the world.
And Irving also scored 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, making him an excellent lieutenant. Finally came to the tie-break, for James and Irving, this is an important game, in the last moments, both teams have been biting the score, and Irving faced Curry's defense at a critical moment, shot a three-pointer enough to kill the game, plus James's block of the century, and finally the Cavaliers completed a big reversal, Irving scored 26 points in the game, and the 24-year-old followed the team to stand on top of the world, and his name was successfully recorded in history.