Philadelphia, PA – Back on March 11 the Cleveland Cavaliers had just capped a three-game winning streak by disposing of the Houston Rockets at "The Q" 118-107.
The presumptive NBA Rookie of the Year, Kyrie Irving, was brilliant in the guts of that game, scoring 16 of his 21 points in the final 4:14 of the contest, basically willing the Cavs over the finish line.
Cleveland was up by just two when Irving began his personal onslaught by capping an 8-2 spurt with a three-point play, making it a 101-93 game.
A bit later, Irving hit a short jumper, knocked down a pair of free throws and then nailed a huge three-pointer in consecutive Cleveland possessions, which made it 110-107 in favor of the Cavaliers with 52.9 remaining.
Finally, Irving showed the steely nerves of the most fearless cat burglar by making all six of his free-throw attempts in the final 32.9 seconds to seal the win.
"It was a great win," Cavs head coach Byron Scott said at that time. "We got our confidence level back."
That win improved Cleveland's record to 16-23 and the club was actually in the conversation with both Milwaukee and New York for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Less than three weeks later, however, the confidence level that Scott was talking about has all but dissipated.
The Cavs have hit rock bottom, dropping eight of nine, and falling into the basement of the Central Division, percentage points behind the Detroit Pistons.
Despite the implosion Irving is still a lock to take home Rookie of the Year honors but the impressive quickness and penetrating ability that had some comparing him to Chris Paul and Isiah Thomas is gone, replaced by a passive game reliant on jump shots.
"I have played a few games in this league now, so teams have enough film on me to know my strength and weaknesses and they are trying to take it (his driving ability) away," Irving said after a poor performance in Philadelphia earlier this week.
That's certainly part of it and the Sixers are an excellent defensive club but what's happening to Irving now is far simpler than that -- the "rookie wall" has finally engulfed the game's top freshman.
A sturdy 6-foot-3 player that weighs in at just under 200 pounds, Irving has answered most of the questions that hounded him before he was the No. 1 overall selection in last June's draft. A toe injury, of course, limited him to just 11 games in his one season at Duke, leaving more than a few scouts whispering that the physicality of the NBA would be far too much for the young star.
Instead, Irving has been able to play in 44 of Cleveland's 48 games and is averaging a team-high 18.7 points, along with 5.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds.
"He has surpassed our expectations and probably everybody in all of basketball," Scott said.
Irving has handled the wear and tear of a truncated, lockout-shortened season well enough but the "rookie wall" isn't just about the physical demands.
It's also the grind -- things like the travel, dealing with the media on a daily basis and signing autographs for every fan that recognizes you while having a meal at your hotel can be a tough thing for any 20-year-old to handle.
Irving has navigated those waters better than most and has the Cavs poised to improve on their putrid 19-63 mark from a year ago despite a significant injury to the club's defensive heart and soul, Anderson Varejao.
"He has a maturity level about himself that is totally different than any 19 (20)-year-old I have met," Scott said.
So while the past 2 1/2 weeks have been disappointing for a city still lamenting the loss of LeBron James, a 30,000-foot view reveals that the Cavs have in fact uncovered their new cornerstone -- a natural point guard with a very high basketball IQ that seems to get it.
"Teams are giving me different looks every game," Irving said. "It's an adjustment and I am doing the best I can. The most difficult thing for a young player is to slow the game down. I've got to take my time."
And so does Cleveland.
Adding another lottery pick to a nucleus that includes Irving, Varejao and Tristan Thompson, the No. 4 overall pick in last year's draft, could have the Wine and Gold back into the postseason sooner rather than later.
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