Kyrie Irving and Mike Dunleavy of the Cleveland Cavaliers sat their second straight game in the Cavs' home victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Irving has tightness in his right hamstring while Dunleavy has a right ankle sprain. They also missed the Cavs' victory against the Charlotte Hornets last Saturday night.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, according to ESPN.com, started Jordan McRae in place of Kyrie Irving and he started alongside DeAndre Liggins who is starting in place of injured shooting guard J.R. Smith. Jordan McRae scored 20 points in the Cavs' win over the Charlotte Hornets last Saturday, but only managed four points in 1-5 shooting against the New Orleans Pelicans. The Cavaliers were still able to come away with the victory thanks to 5 players scoring in double digits led by LeBron James with 26 points on 9-21 shooting.
Irving injured his hamstring after a collision with teammate LeBron James' knee in their Thursday night game against the Boston Celtics. There is no word on when he will return to action but Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue say he is day to day. They won't play until January 5 when they host the Chicago Bulls so Kyrie Irving would have plenty of time to rest.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have no reason to rush Kyrie Irving back to the team since they lead the Eastern Conference with a three-game lead over the Toronto Raptors. If the playoffs started today, they would have home court advantage until the NBA Finals.
This is Kyrie Irving's 4th game out for the Cleveland Cavaliers according to Cleveland.com. The Cavaliers are now 3-1 without Kyrie Irving, who is best known for sinking a crucial shot over Stephen Curry in last season's NBA Finals.
Kyrie Irving is currently averaging 23.9 PPG, 6.0 APG and 3.6 RPG while Mike Dunleavy is averaging 4.6 PPG, 0.9 APG and 2.0 RPG this season. Check out highlights of Kyrie Irving this season:
