Kyrie Irving Likely Out for Game 2 in Atlanta

Kyrie Irving, who hasn’t been healthy for about two weeks now, didn’t participate in Cleveland’s shootaround this morning ahead of Game 2 in Atlanta, and he’s unlikely to play tonight.

The Cavs lead the series 1-0 and didn’t get much out of Irving Wednesday (4-of-10, 10 points, six assists, torched on defense by Jeff Teague). He’s been hobbled by a variety of ailments throughout his career. Somewhere, Miami fans are screaming KARMA! because LeBron left the Heat for Cavs, who supposedly acquired a younger version of the Big 3 in Kevin Love and Irving.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were never seriously hurt as the Heat went to the Finals four years in a row; in year one in Cleveland, Love’s been lost for the year, and Irving’s postseason is in trouble. (Wade showed signs of cracking, but only missed one playoff game while LeBron was in Miami.)

The Cavs will probably turn to JR Smith or Matt Dellavedova to start at guard. Dellavedova, after 19 points in the close-out game against the Bulls, was 0-for-6 in 25 minutes in Game 1 against the Hawks, but played solid defense against Teague and Dennis Schroder.

Does this mean we’ll see minutes from Virginia rookie Joe Harris? He’s only played four minutes in the postseason, but he’s a plus defender and was a good shooter in college. The beaten-up Cavs made even need to dust off Shawn Marion or Mike Miller tonight.