TV20 Sports Report:

By:  Andre’ Price

Cleveland Cavaliers’ star point guard Kyrie Irving has been named to his second consecutive NBA All Star game.  Last year, Irving debuted as an All Star in Houston where he showcased his talents at one of the world’s top basketball forums.  In an event filled weekend, he competed in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, won the 3 point shootout on Saturday, and poured in 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in his 24 minutes of play as a reserve on the NBA’s Eastern All Star team Sunday. 

“This was the best weekend for me,” Kyrie declared, “It was the best experience of my life so far.” (Per Mary Schmitt Boyer, The Plain Dealer)

Irving is second in votes, trailing only Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade, in the race for the starting backcourt.  Irving trails Wade by about roughly 60,000 votes.  The injured Chicago Bulls’ point guard Derrick Rose is in third place trailing Irving by about 300,000 votes.

Despite a rough start the Cleveland Cavaliers are not going unnoticed.  In the official 2014 NBA All-Star ballot released in November, four Cavs’ players appeared:  Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, and Andrew Bynum.  This is the first time Thompson’s name has appeared on the ballot and although it is a long shot that he will be selected, this is definitely a confidence booster for the young forward.  His play and efficiency is better than ever right now for the Cavs and fans should be excited to witness his continuous growth in the upcoming seasons.  As we all know, Bynum was traded last week for Luol Deng.  Despite the trade the Cavs still remain on the Eastern ballot with four players.  The newest Cavaliers’ player is 11^th in voting for front court players among the East. 

As a die-hard Cavs fan, I am definitely excited to see our team be recognized. This is great for the city and the team’s confidence. Voting for players concludes January 20^th so we still have time to assure Irving’s starting spot and potentially sneak another play onto the official roster as a reserved.  Starters will be announced January 23^rd and reserves on Jan.30, all on TNT.  So Cleveland, we have less than a week to vote!