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Cavs’ Kyrie Irving says he will play in Game 1 against Hawks

By Mike Dyce

May 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) and Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) and Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving say is going to play in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers are getting ready to square off in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavaliers have gotten nearly a week worth of rest to heal between rounds, and there is no one more banged up probably than point guard Kyrie Irving.

The Cavaliers are already without their star power forward Kevin Love, losing Irving would be a big loss. Irving has been dealing with tendinitis in his left knee and a strained right foot, but none of that is going to keep him out of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

From Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:

"“I’m going to go,” Irving said of Wednesday’s Game 1 in Atlanta."

And if you were concerned about any other residual effects of the injury, mental or otherwise, that isn’t an issue for Irving. He went on to say his confidence is high coming off the rest.

“I would say just my spirits and mental confidence, just being able to actually feel both my feet underneath me, especially when I’m shooting, it feels amazing,” Irving said. “You know, just a confidence of getting extra work in and just preparing with my teammates. I think that’s the biggest thing I get out of it. I don’t want to be on the sideline at all, especially preparing for a big stage like this. I want to be as close to 100 percent before Wednesday as I can be, so just doing the necessary things in order to do that.”

The Cavaliers were able to dominate the Chicago Bulls without Irving during the final stretch of the game that eliminated the Bulls. Irving being healthy is bad news for the Hawks as they look to ruin James’ homecoming season in Cleveland.

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