Kyrie is a mega talent, and as such is more valuable. It's the subtle parts of the game that are keeping him from becoming a superstar (as well as injuries). If he puts it together, watch out.
Bingo, TP. In fairness, let me preface by saying that I'm not much of an IT fan, and I think this is one of those cases where numbers don't tell the whole story. Statistically, yeah, okay, I can see at least a bit of a comparison, but I think that that ignores the fact that Thomas did his damage off the bench, meaning that he wasn't facing starter-level talent like Irving was (with or without Lebron) for the entire game. Sure, he was out there in crunch time, but even so, I just think that this should be pointed out.
Additionally, Irving possesses the elite dribbling skills that Isaiah can only dream of, which allows him to be able to create his own shot at any moment. Defensively, as well, is where there's quite the size mismatch. Unfortunately for Isaiah, there's nothing he can do to offset his severe lack of height, which makes him quite the liability. It's not that he doesn't try, but there's only so much you can do, team wise, to cover for him. As for Kyie, at 6'3", he at least has the size to play both guard positions, and as we saw this year, playing on a contender meant that there was a much heavier emphasis on defense, so while he still has lapses every now and again, for the most part, he's taken it up a couple of notches in this regard. Look at how he saved the day for the cavs at the end of game 1 of the finals when he blocked Curry's layup attempt (iirc, anyway) to send it to overtime. He never would have made that type of effort if Lebron wasn't there, as had been the case in previous years.
Finally, in terms of player comparisons, IT reminds me a lot of a left handed, less athletic, worse ball handling version of Nate Robinson who gets to the line more often, and I'm not just saying that because they're both 5'9" and played at Washington
. Both players have tremendous heart and love the big moments, but they also often play out of control and are, essentially, shooting guards in a point guard's body who are also poster boys for 'hero ball,' imo.