Irving keeping perspective with Cavs struggles: 'I'm in a great mental place'

Kyrie Irving has had it much, much worse.

Times are tough for the Cleveland Cavaliers right now, but their point guard remains appreciative of the uniqueness of their struggles this season. After all, he's played through three ugly losing seasons to start his career, so a disappointing 18-14 start is still a major step up for him and the franchise.

"I don't want to talk about last year at all," Irving said Wednesday. "I'd rather be in this position right now than I was last year. We're just in a great mental place and I'm in a great mental place."

It's crucial for the Cavs to have that kind of attitude right now, as things could get worse before they get better. Irving's maturity and perspective will be leaned on over the next two weeks, in particular, as LeBron James sits out a tough stretch of schedule due to knee soreness.

James' absence will also put an additional offensive burden on Irving, who has experience being the lead scorer without much support. In 30 games, he's averaging 20.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor, basically right in line with what he's done the last two seasons. With James out the past two games, he's stepped up with 60 points and 13 assists, though the Cavaliers lost both games.

If Cleveland struggles and find themselves at .500 two weeks from now, they'll have Irving reminding them that things could be a lot worse.