Kyrie Irving couldn’t be a difference-maker in the Mavericks loss to the Toronto Raptors last night. The entire team was a letdown, especially when it came to defending the paint. After Jason Kidd questioned the heart of his players, Kyrie gave the media his true thoughts on what he and the team needed to do.
“Being able to be in that locker room and just be honest about what we did tonight. We were soft in the interior and the paint tonight. When you have your head coach calling you soft, you gotta take that personally and take that as a challenge. When we watch film, it’ll make more sense. I’m looking forward to tomorrow so we can just move forward, it’s a part of our season.”
Kyrie Irving: “Being able to be in that locker room and just be honest about what we did tonight. We were soft in the interior, in the paint tonight. When your coach is calling you soft, you gotta take that personally and take that as a challenge.” pic.twitter.com/OWhB98P3u7
— Landon Thomas (@sixfivelando) November 9, 2023
It’s a relief to see Irving take this criticism positively, acknowledging that their head coach isn’t wrong in feeling the way he is. The Mavericks’ paint troubles are still real, with rookie center Dereck Lively II already being expected to give them high-value rotational minutes. The Mavs couldn’t compete because they lacked a player who’s played just seven NBA games, even with the presence of Luka Doncic and Kyrie.
Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber aren’t a reliable backup big rotation for a team that wants to compete, so it’ll be interesting to see if last night’s loss gives the Mavericks an indication of the inevitable trade targets they’ll need to have before February.
Kyrie Irving’s Slow Start To The Season
We’re seeing a version of Kyrie Irving we haven’t seen in years with the Mavericks. After many years of people questioning his locker room mentality and ability to get along with coaches, he’s shown in his short Mavs’ stint that he is willing to do whatever is needed to put this team in a position to win. Unfortunately, his shooting touch has been missing since the start of the season.
Irving is averaging 20.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists on 43.1% shooting, a fall off from the numbers he averaged on the Mavs last winter. But, his minutes are still productive as his presence has helped Luka adjust his usage rate to the lowest since his rookie season.
His defensive pressure on the perimeter has been commendable as well, though there are physical limitations that’ll make it very hard for him to be the high-level defender the Mavs still need to add.
Irving has a reason for his slow start, saying that he didn’t come into the season right after taking the longest break from basketball in his entire career.
“I didn’t come into the season the way I wanted to. The amount of time I took off, I knew that from the start of the season… In 12 years I’ve never taken 30 days, 40 days off before the season.”
“I didn’t come into the season the way I wanted to. The amount of time I took off, I knew that from the start of the season…In 12 years I’ve never taken 30 days, 40 days off before the season.” – Kyrie Irving
Here Irving touches on his slow start and offseason.#MFFL pic.twitter.com/vfJBkRpEw1
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) November 9, 2023
If Irving is looking to find his rhythm, reps on the court will be the only thing that’ll help. He’s been battling minor injuries since preseason, barely playing before the season and already missing a few games in the regular season. With a bunch of tricky games upcoming against the Clippers and Pelicans, Irving will hope to get himself going to keep the Mavericks’ hot start to the season alive.
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