The relationship between Kyrie Irving and LeBron James has been a work-in-progress all season, but both sides say they've found a way to co-exist -- even flourish together.
Part of that progress, though, has meant figuring out how to share criticism and feedback with one another. According to Irving, he has had to endure lectures from his more seasoned teammate regarding his on-court performance.
One such talk came early in the season, after the Cavs lost to the Utah Jazz. In that game, Irving went for 34 points. But James took issue with his point guard tallying zero assists in the game.
"[LeBron] came up to me and was like, 'One, you can never have another game with no assists,'" Irving told Cleveland.com. "'You can damn near have just one, two, three, but you can't have zero.' And I was like, 'All right, cool, it won't happen again.' And it hasn't happened since that game."
Still, Irving is candid in discussing the tension that does exist between the two players, even as they develop an on-court chemistry. The age difference -- Irving is 23, while James is 30 -- has been a challenge, and James has routinely battled with the younger mindsets and relative inexperience of many of his teammates.
James, in fact, even referred to the Cavs roster as his "kids" earlier in the season.
But those problems have more or less fallen to the wayside now, at least the conflict between Irving and James. Both players have found a way to thrive alongside one another.
Kevin Love is a different story entirely. But the most important relationship, in terms of Cleveland's long-term success, if the LeBron-Kyrie dynamic. Tensions may exist, but they don't seem to be infiltrating the basketball court.