There probably isn’t a player who has changed analytically from last year to this more than Cleveland Cavaliers point guard ESPN's Real Plus-Minus (RPM) rated him at a negative 1.40 -- and it seemed questionable at times whether the Cavs would be able to blend all the pieces.

The evolution of Irving is definitely one of the top storylines of the year. Sure, there are many other developments --

His drives have also come with more pull-up attempts, which he’s knocking down much more frequently. His catch-and-shoot attempts are down this year as compared to last, but his efficiency is drastically higher. Many times an Irving shot attempt was the Cavs’ only bail-out hope; this year, more of his shots are within the flow of the offense.

About 39% of Irving’s possessions end with him as the ball handler in a pick and roll. In those plays, the Cavs are scoring at a rate of 0.88 points per possession, which puts Irving in the 81st percentile. For reference, fellow East point guard

Sure, Irving doesn’t put up gaudy assist numbers, but his secondary assists this year is pretty telling. His mark of 1.7 per game rates sixth in the league, just behind Basketball-Reference.com). And average is all the Cavs needed from Irving, considering how devastating they are on the other end.

Overall, Irving has a Net Rating (Offensive Rating minus Defensive Rating) on the year of plus-7.0. His true shooting percentage is way up -- .580 this year compared to .533 last season -- as are his efficiency statistics, and the all-encompassing stats, specifically Win Shares per 48 minutes and our own metric here at numberFire, nERD.

This season has brought with it stellar play from a lot of improving guys in the league.

However, none may be more important this year and the future than the evolution of Kyrie Irving.