Kyrie Irving: (Knee) Confident He'll Play Game 2

Irving (knee) admitted that he aggravated his left knee injury during the third quarter of Wednesday's Game 1 against the Hawks, Cleveland.com reports. However, Irving hopes to play in Game 2 on Friday. "Right now I'm pretty confident I will go for Game 2," he said.

Analysis:

From the opening tip, it was clear that Irving was still hampered by the injuries, as he consistently struggled defensively, getting hung up on screens and allowing Jeff Teague to get to the basket with ease. He played only 27 minutes, finishing with 10 points and six assists, and watched from the sideline as Matthew Dellavedova closed out the game. "Left knee is a little bit more stiff than I would want it to be, but like I said before in the past series, and I'm going to continue to say, no excuses," Irving said. "Just have to continue to put myself out there and put myself in the best position for my teammates. Whenever they need me, I'm out there, called upon and I will do whatever it takes." With only one day off before Game 2, it's unlikely Irving shows dramatic improvement, so his workload could again be limited.