Kyrie Irving played his first game of the 2015–16 National Basketball Association (NBA) season yesterday, Dec. 20.
After shooting down preliminary reports that he would be debuting against the Oklahoma City Thunder, it didn't take long for Irving to announce that he's back via Twitter.
Irving returned against the low-ranked Philadelphia 76ers, a move that many feel is sensible.
Not to take anything away from the Sixers, Irving could probably see some minutes to get a feel of the game. Debuting against the Thunder could force the Cavs point guard to exert more effort, particularly because he would have ended trying to play opposite Russell Westbrook.
I'm back.
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) December 19, 2015 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Regardless, his return seems to come at the right time. The Cavs need stability from the point guard position, although Matthew Dellavedova and just recently Iman Shumpert have alternated at quarterbacking the Cavs.
The Cavs are actually sitting on the top of the Eastern Conference standings at 18–7 as of this writing, but it seems that they are pretty far off from their Western conference rivals — Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs.
With Irving slowly being brought into the groove of things, the Cavs could be prepping for a similar run they did last season. To recall, the Cavs picked up the pace toward the latter half of the 2014–15 season, only to flounder when their main stars went down to injuries in the post season.
Kevin Love fell to a shoulder injury in the first round and then Irving followed when he injured his knee cap during game one of the NBA Finals.
Hopefully, that will not happen again this time around, with the Cavs properly managing the minutes of their big three — Irving, Love, and LeBron James.
Irving is likely to see controlled minutes for the first couple of games to make sure that he is prepped and ready for the tougher games ahead.
