NBA Playoffs 2017: 5 things we learned from the Cavaliers sweep of the Raptors

2. Kyrie Irving, the facilitator, has arrived

We all know Kyrie Irving’s a fantastic scorer, one of the best in the league at the point-guard position. The former Duke product can do it all, score at the rim with either hand, pull up from mid-range or hit from long distance. One of the few parts of his game that’s been heavily criticized has been his facilitating as a playmaker.

Even LeBron James called out Irving on his lack of assists, who came up to Irving after a zero assist game in Utah a few years ago and said “one, you can never have another game with no assists. You can damn near have just one, two, three, but you can’t have zero.”

But a little more than two years removed from that game in Salt Lake City, Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers in assists during the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In the opening round, LeBron James led all Cavaliers’ players with 9.0 assists per game, but against the Raptors, it was Irving who led the squad, with 8.5 assists per game.

Watching the game, it didn’t seem like Irving was trying to force any of the passes, but he was consciously making the effort to pass up a good shot for a great one and was rewarded. Routinely in Game 4, Irving was finding wide-open shooters in transition to knock down 3s.

This was the once facet of Irving’s offensive game that alluded him, but it’s seem to have developed under LeBron’s tutelage the past few seasons. Irving is still a fantastic scorer when he needs to be, like when he went on an individual 11-2 run to ice the Cavaliers’ win. But ladies and gentleman, Kyrie Irving, the facilitator, has arrived.