With just four teams left in the chase for the NBA title, the Blue Devils are guaranteed to have one representative in the Finals, as Kyrie Irving's Cavaliers and Elton Brand's Hawks continue to duke it out in the Eastern Conference Finals, though neither player has seen much time in the series. Although Irving has struggled to stay on the floor for his team during the postseason, the Cavaliers have continued to plow through the Eastern Conference and are two games away from the NBA Finals.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers: After helping defeat the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the playoffs, Irving has looked like a shell of himself early in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks. Dealing with knee tendinitis and a right foot strain, Irving has looked visibly hampered by his injury in his limited minutes and decided to sit out Game 2 altogether. But the Cavaliers haven't missed a beat as they lead the series 2-0 thanks to solid performances by LeBron James and his supporting cast in a 97-89 victory Wednesday and a 94-82 win two days later.
In the first game of the series, Irving registered 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, along with six assists and three rebounds. The 6-foot-3 point guard struggled to explode past the Hawks' defense to that point and limped off the court after tweaking his left knee in the fourth quarter.
With Irving's status for Game 3 questionable and with the Cavaliers holding a commanding 2-0 series lead, it is possible that the team may rest Irving as they look to advance to the NBA Finals.
The former Duke star was acknowledged in a big way Thursday when he was selected to the 2014-15 All-NBA Third Team. The fourth-year guard had a superb regular season with averages of 21.7 points and 5.2 assists per game. After being criticized for failing to record an assist in multiple contests early this season, Irving has become a driving force for the Cleveland Cavaliers and has developed a strong bond with James.
In fact, the point guard had the chance to talk about the impact playing with the two-time NBA Champion has made on himself and the Cavaliers in a funny exchange with a reporter last week.
Elton Brand, Atlanta Hawks: Brand's role continues to be minimal for the top-seeded Hawks, who are in desperate need of answers after dropping the first two games of the series on their home floor. The veteran forward came off the bench to shoot two free throws in Game 1 after All-Star DeMarre Carroll left the game with what at the time looked like a serious knee injury. Brand split the pair, committed a foul and did not play the rest of the way Wednesday and did not log any stats Friday.
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