LeBron James: Kyrie Irving one of best one-on-one players in league history

BOSTON -- Throughout the season, during times when the Cleveland Cavaliers' offense fell into lulls of isolation basketball, head coach Tyronn Lue and LeBron James defended the approach, saying it was wise to take advantage of two of the league's best one-on-one scorers.

Following the Game 4 win, a night when Kyrie Irving sliced the Boston Celtics' defense with repeated dribble-drives, the All-Star point guard showed again why that path can be so successful.

"He was born to play one-on-one," James said of Irving. "That's what he do. I think what he's improving more upon is the feel of the game and taking his time and scoring and possessions and things of that nature and growing as a point guard and growing as a leader. But the kid was born to play one-on-one. You have those great one-on-one players in our league history and he's up there."

Irving learned the lethal iso skills on the New York blacktop and they have been at the center of Cleveland's championship run over the last few years.

In Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Irving called for a switch against Golden State's Stephen Curry and dribbled a few times before creating enough space to bury the go-ahead 3-pointer, the biggest shot in franchise history, from his favorite spot on the court.

After an uneven performance -- from a scoring perspective -- in the first three games against the Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Irving took over in the fourth quarter of Game 4, attacking the defense off the bounce. No one could stay in front of him and his mini-run clinched the Cavs' second straight series sweep.

Those break-the-defense down skills paid dividends again Tuesday night, when the Cavaliers needed a jolt.

With the offense in a funk, James in foul trouble and the Cavs trailing in the first half against the suddenly confident Celtics, Irving lifted the team, scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the quarter. Then he exploded in the third quarter, rallying the team into a seven-point advantage while scoring 21 points on 9-of-10 from the field.

During the middle quarters, Irving made seven buckets in isolation, according to Synergy Sports.

In the past, Irving has singled out Celtics shooting guard Avery Bradley as one of the league's premier defenders, someone who tends to give him issues. That's just one of the many impressive aspects of Irving's 42-point outburst in Game 4.

"When you give him room and give him space, he can get to anywhere he wants to get on the floor, and we know that," Lue said of Irving. "And what I think is probably the best on-ball defender in the league is Avery Bradley, and to take that challenge and to score a few baskets like that against Avery just shows you how good and special Kyrie is with the basketball because not too many guys are getting around Avery. We've seen that for the last four or five, six years. That just shows you how special he is offensively."

This season, Irving ranked third in isolation scoring, totaling 412 points, and falling behind just James Harden and Russell Westbrook in the category. Irving also shot 47 percent in isolation situations.

Most times, having a player dribble into the half court without much ball movement before attacking the defense will frustrate coaches. Teams can load up on one side and force poor possessions. With Irving it's different. Lue has praised Irving's growth as a playmaker this postseason, not forcing shots and making the right passes when available, but the coach still demands Irving stay aggressive, understanding that him breaking down the defense in one-on-one situations is sometimes the team's best form of offense.

In the playoffs that skill set becomes even more vital, especially as opponents have a better understanding of scouting reports, play calls and sets.

Irving is second in isolation scoring this postseason, trailing just James. With that formula, Lue sees no reason to alter course.

"I've always talked about he has no offensive weaknesses," Lue said. "He finishes with his left, floaters with his left, floaters with his right, step-backs, 3s, off the dribble. Offensively he has the complete package and that's why he's so tough to stop."

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