Kyrie Irving is hoping to have a comeback season that proves all his doubters wrong. It seems Irving has always had more hate outside the inner circles of the NBA, with players and coaches often talking about him with reverence. That happened again as Kings head coach Mike Brown called Irving the best pound-for-pound scorer in the NBA.
“It’s unbelievable. That’s why I say I think, quote-unquote, pound for pound, he might be the best scorer out there. It’s just unbelievable how he can score the basketball… It amazed me back then how he was able to finish in traffic. I don’t know how he was able to do that – the English that he puts on the ball and all that other stuff. It’s just a special, special skill set that he has when it comes to his feel of scoring the basketball from all three levels at his size.”
The Kings beat the Mavericks on Sunday in a 129-113 game that was close for three quarters before the Kings blew Dallas away in the fourth quarter. Irving had 23 points on 47.1% shooting, as the Kings’ defense zoned in on the Mavs’ backcourt also featuring Luka Doncic. Doncic scored 25 points on 36.8% shooting in one of his poor outings of the early season.
Irving is averaging 23.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists this season, shrugging off a slow start to become more of an offensive contributor to the team. It seems his injuries aren’t restricting him as much, giving the Mavs a much-needed contributor on a team that plans on scoring in the 130s to make up for their abysmal defense.
Can Kyrie Irving Play A Key Role In The Mavericks Resurgence?
The Mavericks used a relatively easy schedule for the first 10 games of the season to run off to an 8-2 start, even with Kyrie missing a few games due to injury. But their first real tough stretch of games has seen them lose three of their last four games. With games against the Lakers and Clippers coming next, the Mavericks will desperately need to keep winning and keep pace atop the Western Conference.
The defensive concerns are too far gone and cannot be addressed without more roster changes. They’ve taken a step forward since last year defensively with the additions of Grant Williams, Dereck Lively II, and Derrick Jones Jr. However, a more difference-making piece is required to be their primary POA defender or add more size to an undersized frontcourt.
With offense being the way the Mavericks are targeting to win games, Kyrie will be integral in those plans. Doncic is averaging his lowest usage rate since his rookie season, relieving the stress on him last season to have historic performances every night for the Mavs to even have a chance at competing. Kyrie has given their offense another dimension, as the team is playing faster and is the second-best offense in the NBA.
Kyrie has held up defensively, often taking the role of being the POA defender on opposing guards. But his inherent size and age make him a bad fit for the role. It’ll be interesting to see how he elevates his game and returns atop the upper echelon of stars in the NBA.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
