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Kyrie Irving Injury Update: Cavs do not fear ACL tear

By Josh Hill

June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) falls to the floor while being defended by Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the overtime period in game one of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
June 4, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) falls to the floor while being defended by Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) during the overtime period in game one of the NBA Finals. at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers lost guard Kyrie Irving in overtime of Game 1 in the NBA Finals, and the extent of his injury isn’t yet known. 

When the Cavaliers went to overtime in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, it was solely because of a play by Kyrie Irving that swatted away an easy layup for Steph Curry.

But while that play extended the game for the Cavaliers, it didn’t save it and it put the team in a situation where their star guard would get possibly seriously injured. Irving left the overtime contest after twisting his knee, and the initial diagnosis didn’t look like it was going to be positive.

According to Brian Windhorst from ESPN, the Cavaliers do not believe that Kyrie Irving suffered a torn ACL in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but an MRI on Friday will confirm or deny this suspicion.

This is good news, but the bottom line is that Irving was way more banged up than he was letting on initially. When he was injured in overtime, Irving tried to remain on the floor but had to be ushered off when it was clear he wasn’t going to be of any use.

As soon as he left the view of fans, Irving began to limp even more considerably and was in an immense amount of pain. Compounding the fears of Cavaliers fans were reports from the locker room after the game that suggested Irving was unable to move on his own.

That clearly indicates inflammation and swelling of some sort in his knee, but that doesn’t mean a torn ligament. Irving left the Cavaliers locker room on crutches but was reported to be in ‘good spirits’.

An MRI on Friday will give the Cavaliers more of a feeling of just how hurt Irving is — and until then everyone in Cleveland will be holding their breath.

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