When Kyrie Irving was drafted, most "experts" labeled his game as something less than extraordinary: a poor man's Chris Paul, it was suggested. No one described him as having a chance at being anything more than a very good NBA player. No one thought he would be a star, let alone a superstar. But his stats this season suggest something else, and he is running away with the Rookie of the Year award. So what is Kyrie Irving's ceiling?

18.2 PPG 5.0 APG 3.5 RPG .491 FG% .414 3P%

16.1 PPG 7.8 APG 5.1 RPG .430 FG% .282 FG%

16.7 PPG 6.3 APG 3.9 RPG .475 FG% .222 3P%

These are three sets of rookie-year point guard stats. Two are from point guards who are elite today. The other is from Kyrie Irving. Do you know which is which? The first set is Kyrie, the second is Chris Paul, and third is Derrick Rose. Rose was the MVP last year, and Paul is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, point guards in the league. What I want to know is: does Kyrie have a chance to reach the level of either of those guys? His rookie stats so far definitely speak to him being able to do so. However, both of those point guards have unique skill sets: Derrick Rose, of course, has other-worldly athleticism. The man can jump. And Paul is one of the best passers in the game. However, Kyrie is a significantly better shooter than either Paul or Rose was at the beginning of their careers, and is certainly already a better shooter than Rose, and arguably than Paul.

My question to you is: where does it go from here? Can Kyrie Irving continue to elevate his play and become one of the best point guards in the league? Or will he stay around his current stats the rest of his career?

I don't know the answer. I'm not sure where Kyrie is going, and where he is leading the Cavaliers. But for the first time, there's a little hope. For the first time, I feel like we might be headed to a good place.