The best part of this game is no more Lillard being better than Kyrie talk lol. Always been a ridiculous take
There's nothing ridiculous about this take. Kyrie has accomplished nothing without LeBron. And unfortunately, he chooses not to play due to "discomfort" at the most important time of the year. Any difference in talent is negligible, and Lillard is a far better teammate and human being.
First, you know neither Kyrie nor Lillard and their personas in the media paint each as both being pretty good guys. Claiming you know that Lillard or Kyrie are better team mates or people is just non-sensical since you personally know neither.
Second, Kyrie went down due to pain in his knee. Call it discomfort to minimilize it all you want, it was pain. It was determined a wire needed to be removed and after, it was it was determined the screws had to come out to get rid of long term infection chances. It was the right long term move, regardless of time during year. Kyrie is 25. He has lots of championship winning years in front of him. You don't sacrifice that to try to get a ring this year. Just ask Kevin McHale about that.
I appreciate you, nick, but I really disagree here. I've never seen Lillard disrespect or belittle reporters in the same way that Kyrie has. By all accounts, Lillard has embraced Portland and vice versa. He has been a solid locker room presence to a team formerly ridiculed as the Jail Blazers. And he has brought them along without much help at all. Kyrie, on the other hand, forced his way off a contender. He threatened to have knee surgery/discontinue playing in CLE because he was unhappy. Think about that for a second ... then place it in the context of Kyrie playing for a new team that a) he has a lot less time with and presumably allegiance to, b) and a Celtics team that was eliminated from contention when Hayward went down, c) whose management has proven will dump an all-NBA player due to injury concerns. That in mind, I trust nothing that has come out of his camp. Without evidence of elevated blood cell counts, I don't even buy the infection story. He created that doubt with his actions...
It was reported as 'discomfort' and 'irritation' in the media. That's consistent with the wire and its placement. Anything beyond that is speculation on both our parts, but the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. He's proven to be a self-centered diva, and he would most assuredly waste a post season of Celtic fans' interests if it was in his best interest. I can understand that to an extent, but all signs pointed to there being very minimal risk of him causing significant long-term damage to that knee by foregoing the first surgery and playing through 'discomfort' in what so many posters are calling "a wide open East." Point guards are a dime-a-dozen in today's NBA -- see: Rozier right now -- and the very best aren't good enough to win a championship as a team's best player. That honor goes to the super-versatile wings and unicorn bigs of the league. If I question a PGs allegiance, especially if I've proven that I'm adept at drafting under-the-radar PGs, I'd be wide open to trading a high-profile PG (Kyrie) for a transcendent big (AD) to a team that may listen.
