National Basketball Association

Doctors to examine Irving on Monday

Published Jul. 15, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving will have his broken right hand examined by team doctors on Monday.

Irving, the NBA's rookie of the year, broke his hand Saturday after slapping it on a padded wall during summer league practice in Las Vegas. Irving said he likely will undergo surgery and the Cavs said he will miss up to two months. A team spokesman said Sunday night that Irving returned to Ohio late and won't be seen by doctors until Monday.

Cavs coach Byron Scott lamented that Irving's injury will prevent the team from pairing him this summer with guard Dion Waiters, selected by Cleveland with the No. 4 overall pick in last month's NBA draft.

Although Irving has been injury prone, Scott said the mishap ''was just something stupid on his part.''

Said Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft: "It was just a freak accident."

Irving's injury is a tough blow for the 20-year-old, who recently wowed observers during workouts against the American team headed to the London Games. Irving also had made headlines by challenging Kobe Bryant to a game of 1-on-1 with the loser promising to pay $50,000 to the winner's charity — a video of Bryant and Irving engaging in trash talk has become a hit on the Internet.

"I am a little disappointed," Irving told reporters. "I have to be more responsible about my health. It was just crazy. It happened so fast."

Irving averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and 3.7 assists last season and proved to be worthy of the top pick. He has given the Cavaliers and their fans reason to believe the franchise can return to prominence after the painful departure of LeBron James.

Irving missed 14 games last season with injuries. He sat out 10 games with a shoulder injury, three with a concussion and one when he was ill. Irving played in just 11 games as a freshman at Duke because of a serious foot injury.

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