I finally had a chance to try out my IXs last night so here is my quick review:
*back funny story, around same time Kobe went down I went down with a broken ankle (my dumbarss was wearing Jordan Alpha 1s, never again) so I was out 6 months on crutches and healing. I came back and have been wearing an ankle brace ever since. I was looking forward to ditching that and that these IX's will be that support I need.
To confirm, for me at least, the answer is YES. I was very happy with the support and ditched the brace all together.
Notes:
-My laces did not rip, however it does feel if I pull real hard that it could over time.
-My shozoku (sheath) on the tongue did not scratch off or show signs of wear, however its constantly on my mind (but something I got to get over eventually that nike will not fix lol)
-My ankle felt great after, usually there is stiffness in my achillis or ball joint, but post and this morning I feel like I can go again
-*I swapped out the standard insert for my ELITE 8 insert with heel zoom so I am not sure how it would have felt without it, so I may run again tonight putting original inserts back in.
Hope this is helpful for anyone, now I have friends who say "its a hard transition from 8s" and "I don't like how they feel on court yet", everyone will have different experiences, just wanted to share mine. Overall happiness 9.5/10!