It's official. Cleveland Cavaliers' starting point guard Kyrie Irving is out of the 2015 NBA Finals versus the Golden State Warriors after suffering from a fractured left kneecap that required surgery. He will be sidelined for three to four months, and the lingering question in the air is how much Irving's absence would affect the Cavs from here on.

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While the glitz of the Finals itself might suffer from losing another All-Star player (Kevin Love was the first one to go) due to injuries, the excitement, drama, and intensity appears to be increasing as each day passes.

When it comes to firepower and depth, the Cavs are definitely at a disadvantage right now. Even if LeBron can summon up all his confidence and direct it towards his teammates, they will still surely feel the absence of one great point guard named Kyrie Irving.

In terms of defense, people may argue that Cleveland lost their best Steph Curry defender, as described by Bleacher Report's Josh Martin. Irving kept himself in front of Curry the whole of Game 1, limiting the MVP to "just" 26 points and blocking him twice on crucial plays.  

One positive effect, though, is that the absence of Irving might push the other Cavs to step up and give them the opportunity to show what they are really made of especially in this stage of the postseason.

Guards like J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Matthew Dellavedova is now called upon to help LeBron James carry the offensive load. If they have anything in them that says they can score, now is the perfect time to show it. As Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor wrote, "As spectacular as James' performance was in Game 1, he clearly needs a consistent second scoring option for the Cavs to have a chance in this series."

A more mathematical analysis was reported by FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver as he computed the effect of Irving's absence for the Cavs using percentages.

Surprisingly, the Cavs are not the only ones affected by Irving's injury. Their opponents are concerned, too.

True competitors want to beat the best at their best so that they can claim to be the best. This is why Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he hopes Irving can play the remainder of the series, emphasizing that he really, really meant that. He doesn't want their championship, if ever, to be tainted by the fact that the Cavs are not 100 percent in the Finals.

But now that the extent of Irving's injuries is clear, both teams will need to move on and adjust to whatever consequences it will have on them.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA Finals 2015, Kyrie Irving, cleveland cavaliers