Cavaliers' Irving will return Tuesday

After missing two games with a knee contusion sustained on Christmas Day, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving took part in Monday's practice and said he will play Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks.

Irving is averaging 20.2 points, 5.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the 18-12 Cavs, who suffered an embarrassing home defeat to the lowly Detroit Pistons without him on Sunday.

Following the 23-point blowout, LeBron James said the Cavs aren't a very good team right now, while reports surfaced Monday that some within the organization are growing concerned with whether the players are responding to head coach David Blatt.

In other words - the team could use any bit of help to right the ship at this point, and Irving will be needed on the road against the 22-8 Hawks, who are 13-3 at home, sit second place in the Eastern Conference, and drilled the Cavs, 127-98, just a couple of weeks ago.

With Irving on the court, the Cavs have outscored opponents by an average of 5.3 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. Without him, they've been outscored by 7.6 points per 100 possessions, giving the All-Star guard an on/off net rating of +12.9.