Is Kyrie Irving Getting Enough Credit For The Cavs' Game 7 Win?
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- LeBron James, Cleveland's prodigal son, delivered on his promise to bring a championship to the city after a 52-year drought.
Completing the first-ever comeback from a 3-games-to-1 deficit in the NBA Finals to win his third NBA Championship, his first with the Cavaliers, James ended up with just the third triple-double in the history of Game 7 in the NBA Finals with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He also did it against the Golden State Warriors, who blew their bid to enter the conversation for "Greatest NBA Team In History" with their shocking Finals collapse.
He also made a block for the ages on the Warriors' Andre Iguodala with the game tied and under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, a play that should go down as one of the single greatest defensive plays in NBA history.
Just one thing, though: the big game-winning shot that ultimately sealed the victory for the Cavs came off the hands of not James, but his teammate Kyrie Irving.
So, naturally, James' many critics and detractors pointed to Irving's big-time basket - and James' relative lack of big shots in playoff wins - in a futile attempt to discredit No. 23's impact on the Cavs' improbable comeback.
98.5 The Sports Hub's Chief LeBron James Fault-Finder Tony Massarotti led the charge, tweeting this mere minutes (seconds?) after the clock ran out and the Cavs charged the floor to celebrate:
Whenever LeBron wins, why is it that some else always makes the big shot?
— Tony Massarotti (@TonyMassarotti) June 20, 2016
Mazz, however, was not alone. According to a slew of hot-takers on Twitter, James needs to make literally every big play all the time. Or that Irving just deserves more credit for making what was ultimately the game-winning shot in what was an outstanding series for James' second-in-command.
LeBron needs to take every. Single. Shot. The second half. Every one. He should put up 40 shots. I don't even care if he misses them all.
— JAY RICHARDSON (@JayRichardson99) June 20, 2016
Lebron didn't want to take the game winning shot.. That's why he ain't the greatest to me.. #Kobe & #MJ would have wanted that ball!
— Buss (@1bigbuss) June 20, 2016
Kyrie Irving just hit a Michael Jordan-esque game 7 shot but naturally the talk will be all about LeBron
— Trace Whitehead (@TraceWhitehead3) June 20, 2016
LeBron still ain't take the shot
— Zig???? (@Zack_D14) June 20, 2016
LeBron deserves ALL the love he's getting, but eventually someone might wanna mention that shot by Kyrie. Play of the game.
— Jason King (@JasonKingBR) June 20, 2016
This is why you dont let Cleveland win, all credit to Lebron but Kyrie made the shot. bruh wtf
— ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???? (@trillthecreator) June 20, 2016
LeBron deserves all the praise that he gets. But Cleveland does not win without Kyrie Irving. What a shot!
— Kelly Gramlich (@kellygramlich) June 20, 2016
I see a lot of LeBron praise...but didn't Kyrie take and make the game winning shot? ????
— YGThaBeast (@YGThaBeast) June 20, 2016
Kyrie carried that game last night Steph and LeBron shot poorly considering it was a Game 7
— Tadeaus (@TadThaDon) June 20, 2016
Fittingly, WBZ-TV's Dan Roche had perhaps the fairest and most reasonable take of anyone on Twitter last night.
Tip of the cap to Lebron for that ridiculous block; Kyrie Irving w/money shot; and Cavs for beating a tough, tough GS team in their arena
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) June 20, 2016
Yes, it was Irving who made the final big shot that won the championship for the Cavs. But the play would not have been possible without James' block that occurred just a minute prior to it, and James had simply taken over the series from Game 5 on. And James also deserves credit for making the final free throw of the game to put the Cavs up four points with ten seconds left and essentially icing the game.
It may be harsh to discredit the amazing things that James did throughout the Cavs' comeback, but it would also be unfair to Irving not to give him the credit he deserves for making the big shot when it really, really, really counted.
So, it's time to cast your vote. Boiling the NBA Finals down to just the final two minutes of Game 7, who deserves more credit: Irving for making the big shot, or James for setting up the game-winning shot with the block heard 'round the world?
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.