ORLANDO, FLA.: Long after the formal portion of practice had ended Sunday, Kyrie Irving remained on the court shooting. He shot corner 3-pointers and participated in shooting drills with LeBron James.
Over and over, Irving ran to half court and back to the 3-point line. Catching, shooting, catching, shooting. He’s getting close now. So close he’s getting aggravated the Cavaliers won’t cut him loose.
Just like the 22 games before it, Irving won’t play Tuesday when the Cavs face the Boston Celtics, coach David Blatt said. But that day is coming. Irving is expected to play next Sunday when the Cavs host the Philadelphia 76ers, one team source said, if not before.
There remains a chance Irving could make his debut Thursday when the Cavs host the Oklahoma City Thunder, although Sunday against the Sixers seems more likely at this point. Either way, the Cavs are close to being fully healthy for the first time all season.
“We still got some things we want to go through with him before we let him get back out there,” Blatt said. “But he’s looking good and he’s feeling good.”
Irving practiced with the second unit Sunday and could probably play now, but the Cavs are being cautious because there is no rush to get him back. His knee tested well during the NBA Finals and yet he still fractured his kneecap, so now they are taking more precautions. Either way, Irving will almost certainly be back in the starting lineup Christmas Day when the Cavs play at the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors’ perfect run to start the season ended Saturday at the Milwaukee Bucks, something J.R. Smith conceded he was disappointed to see. Smith rejoined the team for practice Sunday after missing Friday’s game with an illness.
Smith said he watched from home Friday as the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in double overtime and was openly rooting for the Warriors. They lost the next night, anyway.
“I was upset, I’m not going to lie, I was upset when they lost,” Smith said. “I wanted them to go undefeated until they played us. It was a great run and a great streak. It had to come to an end sooner or later, but they had a hell of a run.”
Blatt won’t say yet who will be his starting shooting guard now that both Iman Shumpert and Smith are healthy and available.
Scratched up
As it turns out, LeBron James wasn’t poking fun at Magic guard Elfrid Payton after all. James smacked his left shoulder after Payton fouled him in Friday’s blowout win over the Magic. James appeared to be mimicking a bug on his shoulder he was smacking, but he said Sunday Payton actually scratched him.
James practiced with a bandage over his left shoulder Sunday, the same spot he was smacking on Friday.
James also said his quad was still sore Sunday after he injured it in Friday’s win, but he went through practice. It isn’t anything that should keep him out of the lineup.
“I feel where I’d like to be with two days before we play a game,” he said. “My quad is definitely still hurting a little bit, but I got some work today. I feel like I’m progressing.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.