The Dallas Mavericks swung for the fences and gave up draft picks and their best defender to pair Kyrie Irving with Luka Doncic. Notably, they did it knowing that Kyrie could just walk away in the next couple of months.
Of course, that means Mark Cuban and Jason Kidd are confident in this duo’s ability to beat the odds and win an NBA championship. But, as talented as both are, it’ll take time before they reach their ceiling.
So, after a couple of games playing together, the often-controversial guard opened up on the on-court chemistry he’s developing with Doncic, as well as how different the West is from the East.
Kyrie Irving Is Excited About Playing With Luka Doncic
“It feels great. We just have to get more timely stops and take care of a few possessions,” Irving said. “That can go either way. We’re playing in the Western Conference, and I am learning that there’s a lot of physicality [and] a lot of players that go get buckets. But towards the end of the game, it is just about will and body positioning and doing the little things to get you a win.”
“Offensive rebounds down the stretch, too. Right now, I am figuring out his pace, especially in the first quarter. Coming out of halftime, figuring out what pace we’re going to play at,” Irving continued. “When we’re up and running and gunning a little bit and switching on the perimeter, doing things that keep the game going, not taking the ball out of the rim. Forcing them to miss shots and turn the ball over, we’re locked into the details of our adjustments.”
“I feel like we play extremely well when we’re doing that. That pace is great for us. But obviously, we can’t wait until the fourth quarter to get it going like that. That’s on me. We will figure it out a little earlier and be aggressive and just be myself,” the guard added.
On paper, the Mavericks have more than enough firepower to outscore anybody. But that formula has rarely worked in the playoffs, especially in the wild wild West. So, unless they get some stoppers in the buyout market, this exciting run could be quite short-lived.
