While the Dallas Mavericks have had a great start to the season, the same can’t really be said about Kyrie Irving, who has really struggled with his shot. There has been a bit of improvement in his last few games, though, and when asked how things are starting to get better, he pointed to tips from his father, Drederick, and Kobe Bryant.
“Just get my right elbow pointed,” Irving said. “I talked to my dad a few days ago, and he just always loves to remind me to keep my right elbow pointed. That’s something that Kobe used to tell me as well, just as a reminder and then just take my time, get my feet underneath me. There were some times when I wasn’t landing on balance.”
Irving says there were some areas where his rhythm was just a little bit off as well.
“It’s little things that probably the common fan wouldn’t see, but those that appreciate hoop culture can, and appreciate my game can see some of the nuances of where my rhythm was a little off,” Irving continued. “Sometimes, it could be the guide hand just staying on the ball a little bit more or floating left or floating right.”
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While it may seem rather insignificant to a common fan, those little things do end up making a big difference. After shooting just 24.1% from three in his first five games, Kyrie has gone 8-16 from beyond the arc in his last two, and the Mavericks would be hoping that he has turned the corner for good.
We really have not seen the best of Irving by any means this season. The 31-year-old is averaging 21.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.0% from the field, which is tied for the lowest of his career.
The fact that the Mavericks are 7-2 despite that, is a credit to the rest of the team, and it’s also scary for the rest of the league. Irving will eventually get going, and you wonder just how good Dallas will look then.
Are The Mavericks Serious Contenders In 2023-24?
Considering how they imploded in the 2022-23 campaign, there were many question marks about the Mavericks coming into this season. So far, they have looked pretty good and while Luka Doncic is a big reason for it, two of their offseason moves have really paid off as well.
Grant Williams has been a great addition to this team with his defense and shooting, while rookie Dereck Lively II has been very impressive as well. Lively is averaging 8.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game, and has quickly become an integral part of this team.
The defense was the biggest question mark surrounding this team and these two have greatly helped on that end of the floor. I think it has made the Mavericks contenders, but you still wouldn’t fancy them to beat the likes of the Denver Nuggets, unless they make a couple more moves.
Kyrie Irving Spoke On The Clippers’ Struggles
The latest win for the Mavericks came against the Los Angeles Clippers, who have struggled massively since trading for James Harden. The Mavs blew them out 144-126, to make it three defeats on the trot for L.A. Irving believes, though, that the Clippers will figure things out.
“Right now they’re going through those ups and downs in the public forum where they are getting criticized for not winning games even though they’re as great as anyone in the league. They’ll be a great team,” said Irving.
The Mavericks were really in a similar position to the Clippers, where they couldn’t win games after trading for Kyrie. Just like it took them some time to figure things out, it will be the same for the Clippers. There will be growing pains along the way and the key is to remain patient and work on functioning better as a unit.
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