NBA Power Rankings: Top 10 point guards for 2014-15

May 13, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the fourth quarter in game five of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

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Feb 24, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (left) looks over at Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (right) as Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott (center) looks on during the second half at the American Airlines Arena. MIami won 109-105. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Kyrie Irving:

2013-14 Stat Line: 71 games, 35.2 MPG, 20.8 PPG, 6.1 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG, .430/.358/.861 shooting, 20.1 PER

Kyrie Irving is a defensive black hole. That narrative has been driven into the ground more times than the radio’s played “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea in the past month. Between his defense and the fact that Uncle Drew actually regressed from 2012-13 – when he averaged 22.5 points, 5.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game – I could understand Portland fans being upset about Irving being placed so high.

However, he’s two years younger than Lillard and it’s time to introduce the doubters and critics of Kyrie Irving’s game to something I like to call The LeBron James Effect. It turns out that having the best player in the world on your team can elevate the weaker areas of your players’ skill sets. The Cleveland Cavaliers can tell you that firsthand, since LeBron’s last year in Cleveland, the Cavs posted a 61-21 record. The year following King James’ exodus? Cleveland went 19-63. That’s a difference of 42 wins.

Will we see that kind of drastic turnaround again? Perhaps. But at the very least, having a terrific perimeter defender will help make up for Irving’s flaws on that end. The attention that LeBron commands from the defense will also make life easier on Uncle Drew, who has pretty much had to do most of the work by himself to this point in his career. Kyrie Irving will need to be more effective as a catch-and-shoot jump shooter, but we have to factor in that he will benefit from a drastically improved supporting cast.

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