Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers is mere hours away and one question lingers for the boys from Ohio: Can Kyrie Irving suit up with a banged up knee?

The answer to that is a resounding YES, but the next question is arguably more important: Will he be effective? LeBron James believes so.

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According to SFGate's Ron Kroichick, James is confident that Irving will be able to make a difference in the Finals even with his bum knee. He even mentioned that having their starting point guard at 50 percent to 70 percent would be better than not having him at all. The King added that no. 2 is always going to be a presence on the floor and defenses should not overlook him or else they will pay.

But, mentally, is Kyrie ready? Can he contribute or will he just become a weak spot on defense?

Apparently, he is. Irving told media men on Wednesday that he is accepting the challenge to make adjustments in his game, trying to show some mental toughness at this crucial stage of the season. "I'm just going to go out there and will myself to play," he said.

During the team's 10-day breather after sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Irving has prepared his knee by sitting out some running drills during practice. He had been suffering from left knee tendinitis for more or less a month now and had missed two of the four games in the series against the Hawks.

The good news is he played his last game (Game 4 against Atlanta) efficiently, scoring 16 points and dishing out five dimes in only 22 minutes of action, as per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. For himself, his coach and his teammates, that's really something positive to build up from.

Cavs head coach David Blatt admits that it is difficult to finalize a game plan with Irving not playing at 100 percent. But he promises not to make it as an excuse and face the ordeal "with the same resolve and no-quit attitude" that the team had displayed the whole regular and post seasons.

The real problem starts when Irving begins to guard the spitfire MVP Steph Curry. Because if not Curry, the remaining options would be Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, or Draymond Green, all of which are at least four inches taller than him.

Then at the offensive end, if Warrior defenders are able to clamp him down, would the scoring burden be too much for The King to carry? Yes, unless J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, and the rest of the Cavs' rustic band of role players could provide offensive help somehow, as reported by Dime Magazine's Jamie Cooper.

It's only hours away and the whole world will be watching.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, NBA Finals 2015, Kyrie Irving, cleveland cavaliers, Lebron James, Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry