Kyrie Irving made his much-anticipated debut with the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night against the LA Clippers. He made an excellent first impression, helping lead the team to an impressive 110-104 victory on the road.
Irving scored a game-high tying 24 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point land and knocking down both of his free throw attempts. He added five assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block for a well-rounded stat line.
That performance was a glimpse of what is to come. His addition is a big one for the franchise as he provides Luka Doncic with his best co-star to date. Irving will also help the team stay afloat in minutes that Doncic isn’t on the court, which has been a struggle at times. An NBA scout that spoke to NBA Analysis Network went in-depth on how Irving can help the Mavericks for the stretch run.
“Kyrie is one of the best in the game at playing out of pick-and-roll actions and is, I believe, the best iso guy in the league. That’s going to make any team substantially better. The Mavs badly needed to find someone capable of bringing a dynamic punch in those respects. Having another player that draws doubles will open things up for Luka a lot for easier attacking opportunities.”
“The Mavs’ offense falls apart when Luka isn’t on the floor, it’ll help them a lot in those minutes if Kidd staggers their minutes. Luka will have more gas in the tank late in games because of it. Now, he gets some help with closing games in the clutch, too.”
There may not be any players in the NBA that are better in isolation than Doncic and Irving. Both are deft ball-handlers, excellent playmakers and can put the ball in the basket with ease. That will make Jason Kidd’s life much easier, especially if he staggers their minutes as the scout suggested.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic & Dallas Mavs Updates
There will certainly need to be some adjustments and concessions made by each player to make this work. Both are supremely talented and the scout offered some analysis of how the two can coexist and fit alongside each other.
“Luka will need to be more intentional about letting the quick catch-and-shoot 3 fly when he’s spacing the floor. But I do think he is underrated at attacking closeouts — his size and finishing touch are really tough to stop. There will be times when the defense loads up on Kyrie. Luka will get the easiest looks of his NBA career when that happens. … You can use either guy as a screener and hunt mismatches very easily now. There are a lot of half-court actions Kyrie can be used in that Dallas couldn’t do with Dinwiddie. Luka can be thrown into more of those now as well with Kyrie initiating things, especially for post touches to draw doubles.”
It is going to be nearly impossible for opponents to slow down both Doncic and Irving at the same time; they can only hope to contain them. Both players are going to see plenty of one-on-one opportunities as defenses aren’t going to be able to double-team each of them.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic & Dallas Mavs Updates
What the duo is going to have to avoid is just taking turns on offense. Offense can sometimes become stagnant with superstars just being handed the ball and told to go to work. As long as they are willing passers, this offense should hum in Dallas.
Where there could be concerns is on the defensive end of the court. Doncic and Irving aren’t considered stout defenders. To land Irving, the Mavericks also had to part ways with their best defender in Dorian Finney-Smith. That will be a blow to the team, but at least Irving isn’t a downgrade from Spencer Dinwiddie according to the scout.
“Losing Finney-Smith isn’t going to help a defense, obviously, but there isn’t really a defensive drop-off by going from Dinwiddie to Kyrie. While Kyrie is a smaller guard, Dinwiddie isn’t an impact guy on that end. He doesn’t do much of the dirty work, isn’t going to contain a drive, and loses guys off-ball throughout games. At least Kyrie brings quick hands and good instincts to make plays on the ball.”
Figuring things out on that end of the court could take a little longer than on offense. Doncic and Irving are both good enough on that end of the court that they can roll the ball out and success will be found even before chemistry is developed.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic & Dallas Mavs Updates
Lacking personnel to get the job done on defense, it will be up to Kidd to construct a sound game plan to get the most out of this roster. That will start with their superstars setting the tone so everyone else buys in behind them.
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