Kyrie Irving Won’t Say if His Teammates Have Given Up

Things went from awful to even worse for Byron Scott and the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. After the Brookilyn Nets trounced his team, Kyrie Irving was asked if the players had given up on the season. Irving said only his teammates knew the answer to the question. Scott, meanwhile, ripped the overall effort (or lack thereof.) Per the Akron Beacon Journal: “The Cavs were embarrassed Wednesday by the Brooklyn Nets 113-95 — and it wasn’t even that close — on a night the Nets were without two starters. They scored 38 points in the second quarter, tying for the most the Cavs have surrendered in a quarter this season, and shot 73 percent in the first half. They allowed a 38-year-old and decrepit Jerry Stackhouse to dunk on them, then watched three minutes later as a fat point guard in cement boots split the defense and dunked for the first time this season. ‘It was embarrassing,’ Luke Walton said. It’s happening with more frequency as this season concludes. The Cavs have lost 10 consecutive games, their longest skid since they dropped 26 straight in Scott’s first season. During this losing streak, the Cavs have suffered their worst loss of the season (38 points), suffered the biggest collapse in team history (blowing a 27-point lead and losing) and have lost three other games by 18, 20 and 21 points. Now the questions — and fingers — are pointing toward Scott. Asked directly if he was concerned he could be fired at the end of the season, Scott responded ‘not really … I’ve always had the attitude that whatever happens, happens,’ he said. […] Given Wednesday’s putrid performance, the question was posed to Kyrie Irving if any of his teammates have given up. ‘I think you should ask them,’ Irving said. ‘I’m not going to be the one to answer that.’ Asked if he has quit, Irving said no. ‘I’m out here playing with basically a still-sprained AC joint without a care in the world because I just want to play out there with my teammates,’ Irving said. ‘I haven’t checked out. That thought has never crossed my mind.'”