OAKLAND, Calif. — The Cleveland Cavaliers finished off the Chicago Bulls and swept past the Atlanta Hawks, even when Kyrie Irving wasn’t available.
Now the Cavaliers have to find their way past the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals without him.
Irving has a fractured left kneecap and will have season-ending surgery that could sideline him for three to four months, the Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers announced Friday.
Already playing without injured top-tier forward Kevin Love, the Cavaliers are now without their all-star point guard, who had been playing in pain for most of the postseason and was injured again in the final minutes of Game 1 on Thursday night.
“As far as how we prepare, we’ve been through this. We’ve played games without Kevin, without Kyrie,” coach David Blatt said Friday, before the Cavaliers announced Irving’s diagnosis. “We know how we want to play when they’re not in there. From that standpoint, we can prepare. Our main concern right now, though, is just Kyrie’s health. That’s all.”
The Cavaliers said an MRI on Friday at the Stanford Sports Medicine Clinic revealed the injury and that surgery will be performed at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland by Dr. Richard Parker, the team physician for the Cavaliers.
“Saddened by the way I had to go out but it doesn’t take away from being (a part) of a special playoff run with my brothers,” Irving, 23, wrote in a Twitter posting. “Truly means a lot for all the support and love. I gave it everything I had and have no regrets. I love this game no matter what and I’ll be back soon.”
Irving limped off the court during overtime of Cleveland’s 108-100 loss Thursday night and left the arena on crutches. He had been bothered by foot and then knee pain for most of his first postseason, sitting out the second half of the series-clinching victory over Chicago in the second round.
He then missed two games during the Eastern Conference finals but played well Thursday, finishing with 23 points before leaving with two minutes left in overtime.
He averaged 21.7 points this season.
