Point guard Kyrie Irving says the Cavaliers would “definitely” have defeated the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals if not for injuries to himself and center Kevin Love.
Irving missed all but one game of the Finals after fracturing his left knee near the end of Game 1, while Love suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first round against Boston.
That left LeBron James essentially carrying the load alone for the Cavs in the Finals, which Golden State won 4-2.
It would have been different had the Cavs been healthy, Irving said in an interview on The Big Podcast with Shaquille O’Neal.
“I’m more or less the voice of reason,” Irving said, according to a story in BleacherReport.com.
“I’m always gonna be a straight shooter with everyone and give them my honest opinion. Obviously, we had a great thing in Cleveland. We dealt with everything together.
"I felt like we would have definitely won an NBA championship if everyone was healthy. But almost doesn’t count.”
Irving will get a chance to see if Cleveland’s big three of James, Irving and Love can bring the city a long-awaited championship next season, thanks to Love’s recent announcement that he will forego free agency to stay with the Cavs and take care of “unfinished business.”