The Truth About Kyrie Irving

The Truth About Kyrie Irving

Over the last five games Luca donic is averaging 37 points six rebounds and six assists furthering his case for NBA MVP as the Mavs continue to win sorry did I say Luca because those are actually Kyrie Irving’s numbers which include two 40-point games over a span of four days

While the DA’s been sidelined with an ankle injury Kyrie’s not just playing like a star but like an MVP giving us all a reminder of how good he is at age 31 with a history of lower body injuries he’s obviously lost some burst at this point but the creativity

In his handle overall craft and ability to operate in tight spaces still make him a big time threat to get into the defense on drives this time you’re going to see him start on a drive right and as soon as he gets cut off he slams the

Brakes and redirects into a drive left which gives gives him a lane all the way to the rim that change of speed is just impossible to stick with here’s one that starts with the leftand drive and notice how when he plants his right foot his Defender is actually behind him but that

Sudden stop is so sharp that by the time Kyrie’s releasing the shot it’s like no Defenders even in the same area code the ability to just stop and go on a whim makes him unpredictable instead of attacking off the screen he patiently Waits then throws an aggressive crossover left straight into a tween

Right as he starts his drive and OG actually does an incredible job of taking away the lane that’s when you’ll see Kyrie use his body to create contact and just that little bump generates enough separation to comfortably finish he’s really good at using his body especially against a smaller Defender

Like Alvarado he goes right into his chest multiple times but never extends that off arm so it’s not an offensive foul just bullying his way in close where he earns some free throws another thing you’ll see him do against these smaller matchups is turn his back to the

Basket and play out of the post Conley never had a chance of contesting this fallway jumper here’s another that starts against Conley in the post but this time instead of a fade he spins into a drive notice how the paint is completely packed goar and town just

Waiting for Kyrie and that’s where that deceleration comes into play quickly pulling up for a midi although let’s be very clear he can absolutely finish through traffic when he wants to with unreal body control and some of the best touch we’ve ever seen sometimes it just

Makes more sense to get to the mid-range just like on drives he’ll use his body to create separation using his shoulders to almost bounce off of Defenders before rising up notice how as he pushes in transition there’s one Defender coming in from his left hip and another waiting

Right in front of him so what he does is goes into that left Defender with his shoulder to move him out of his way before side stepping to his right where there’s nobody to contest the Jay that off arm almost serves as a shield here’s virtually the exact same play except

This time it’s Brunson on his hip and OG in front with the same result as he pushes himself into a jumper that beautifully kisses off the glass in addition to the contact game he can also get real slithery here you’re going to see him redirect his drive as he hunts

For a soft spot in the lane and he finds some space to rise up over the top of Rim protection and this is another one that starts with a right-hand Drive except the defense has completely packed the middle of the floor so the only angle for him to attack is Baseline

Larry Nance rotates early to shut off the rim so Kyrie just probes while keeping his dribble alive working his way to the opposite block for a turnaround fade the key here is his patience you can see that he’s looking for the pull-up midi off a ball screen

But bomo comes up a bit to contest so instead of settling he hesitates and takes a couple more dribbles getting to the right elbow for a now open look when working off of screens there’s just no way for defenses to speed him up this time you’re going to see Edwards

Swarming him from the left hip while goar’s parked right in front of him and while a lot of guards would quickly Give It Up to Grant Williams on the pop he keeps his dribble alive fakes a drive across the middle to lose goar and the result is a layup it’s the same thing

When he rejects the screen valent chunis comes over to put pressure on the ball and he just Waits and waits for the big man to commit to either him or the roller and when he drops back that’s his Quee to drive into a floater the way

Kyrie uses his handle to hunt for space allows him to counter more aggressive coverages hartenstein is all the way out near half court and instead of quickly giving up the ball to Williams again you’re going to see him keep the dribble alive he brings those two Defenders with

Him as he seeks out a lane and eventually he finds it from the left wing easily getting by the big man before shedding a third Defender with some beautiful footwork when he knows that a big is coming up to meet him off a screen he’ll often turn the corner

With speed so that he can attack them in space I think it goes without saying that they are not guarding that and when the Knicks eventually switch to a drop coverage in an effort to protect hartenstein from being attacked that just left Kyrie with space to pull up

For a three the off to dribble threo shooting opens up so much for his game I already mentioned the ball screens where if given any sort of room he’ll just torch defenses from outside but I think it’s most lethal when he’s going to work one-on-one and that’s because he can get

Into the shot in so many different ways this time it’s a step back and as long as he can see the hoop it’s a good look on this one you’re going to see him throw a right-and hesitation as if looking to drive and OG drops back leaving more than enough space for him

To comfortably pull up and here’s another play that also starts with a right-hand hesi but Tilman doesn’t drop so he instead turns it into a drive getting right by that Defender before shedding a second with a beautiful midair adjustment you’ll see these same things when he’s operating from a

Standstill he’s comfortable setting up anywhere on the floor whether that’s from up top in either corner and because of the outside shooting all it takes is an inch of room for him to get a shot off and when I say inch of room I mean that literally because you’ll see

Attempts where he’s absolutely smothered but remains completely unfazed in these spots he’ll utilize the triple threat position to his Advantage by jabbing over and over again so that he can gain just a little bit more separation Defenders have to react to these Jabs because if they don’t all of

A sudden he’s exploding into another drive and pouring in one of those infamous acrobatic buckets the ability to apply constant pressure to all three levels and get seemingly wherever he wants with a live dribble keeps the defense in rotation which then of course frees up the guys around him for high quality

Opportunities that patience I keep going back to goes a long way in creating for others here’s another example against the Pelicans where he waits and waits for valent chunis to make a decision and when the big man sticks with him he moves it back to the screener who’s been

Waiting on an island for an open three he’ll even use the threat of his scoring to manipulate the defense here you’re going to see one of those bump sidestep midies but while setting up the shot he recognizes that hardways all alone in the corner and instead decides to kick

It out to the Sharpshooter for a practice jumper so you’ve got this big time on ball Creator who can operate from a standstill anywhere on the floor including in the post but also excels at the high pick and roll game utilizing all three levels getting his teammates

Involved so you put him in a position where he’s asked to be the lead Creator and you get these huge numbers since James Harden was traded to the 76ers back in 2022 kyries played 19 games without Durant or Luca by his side a true number one and in those 19 games he

Averaged 30 points and 6 and 1/2 assists on 61% true shooting those are Elite numbers and his teams had a winning record in that time now the way he increases his production when asked to carry a bigger load has in my opinion been the Catalyst for a pretty big

Misconception and that’s the idea that he needs the ball in his hands to be successful which has just never been the case I actually think he’s one of the best off ball guards in the NBA for one he’s an active mover always looking for soft spots in the defense to take

Advantage of so that he can set up quick attacks and because he’s so good at playing on the fly like that the Mavs will often run him off of screens in set action this time it’s a pin down straight into a two dribble pull-up midi on this one it looks like they’re

Setting up the exact same action except this time KY gets top locked off the screen which he counters with a sharp back door cut that sets up in easy too the big thing though is the outside shooting I talked about his ability to knock down threes off the dribble well

He’s even deadlier off the catch and that includes hitting while on the move the fact that he’s such a good spot of shooter helps him play off of Luca when they’re on the floor together many might feel that waiting in the corner is a misuse of his talent but the type of

Advantages that Luca creates pretty much demands the defense lead someone open and let’s just say it better not be that guy since arriving in Dallas the duo of Kyrie and Luca has played just under 900 minutes together and they’ve recorded a 122 offensive rating that’s an awesome

Mark But what I think is even more impressive is that in the minutes Kyrie played Without Luca they’ve had a scorching 24.9 no that doesn’t mean the Mavs are better without Luca there’s a ton of context but it does speak to how Kyrie can adjust his game to fit whatever the

Team needs do you need him in a secondary role complimenting the play of Luca the offense will be incredible do you need him to increase his on ball creation and serve as a number one for stin he can do that better than maybe any other sidekick in the NBA all that’s

To say I think some of us have forgotten just how Elite Kyrie Irving is and just how much he pushes the Mavericks forward if you enjoyed this breakdown make sure to drop a like subscribe and turn my post notifications on to be first on more content if you’re interested in my

More in-depth research make sure to check out my website and social media profiles you can find those links in the description feel free to let me know down in the comments what you think of Kyrie as always I hope you all have a great day and I’ll catch you guys in the next

One

Kyrie Irving’s averaging 37-6-6 over his last 5 games, not just playing like a star, but like an MVP, giving us all a reminder of how good he is.

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