I'm curious to hear people's thoughts about how the Kyrie drama will impact our team in the playoffs. So much of the discussion has been about whether he stays or goes. It would be nice to switch up the discussion a bit. Quick questions below:
Does the drama become irrelevant as soon as the playoffs begin?
Is Kyrie unintentionally setting himself up to be the scapegoat? If so, does this indirectly take pressure off of the rest of the team?
Is it possible that the added pressure will bring out the best in Kyrie during the playoffs? Or will he pack it in if the team has their back up against the wall?
I think a lot of the drama is simply outside noise (aka media driven). I don't get the sense that its much of an internal thing.
He's certainly set up to be the scapegoat, though, if things go south come playoff time. He's a lightning rod for fans & media alike. If this team goes down in flames, fingers will almost certainly be pointed at him.
His track record seems to indicate that he thrives rather well under pressure so I don't see that being an issue. Obviously, you don't want him shooting like he did last night but I think his good nights will far outweigh his bad nights in April/May/June.