Kyrie Irving is once again starting a new chapter in his NBA career. Following a rollercoaster stint with the Nets, now he's carrying much of the Mavericks' aspirations along with Luka Doncic.
With only a few months left in his contract, Dallas landed Irving from Brooklyn with the idea of helping Doncic take this team to the next level this season. The Mavs, however, have plenty of work to do.
The team has struggled to string good results together since the blockbuster trade, and pressure is starting to mount on Irving. However, Kyrie knows it's part of the game and doesn't look worried about it.
Kyrie Irving addresses the pressure on Mavs this season
“It’s the big business, baby," Irving told The Dallas Morning News. "It’s the big business. As much pressure as I would love to put on myself, I have goals that I would love to accomplish, but all those are pushed to the side because I know that there’s 14 other guys on the team that are relying on me to do things that they’ve either seen me do or they’re expecting me to do as one of the best players in the league.
“So sitting alongside Luka, again, I just have to show up to the party. I’ve been in situations throughout this league — some have been failures, some have been successes. But over the last few years, I’ve definitely made it a goal of mine to just be stronger mentally, especially dealing with the rigors of this mentally, physically, emotionally, so it’ll come.”
Irving understands how this works, so it's safe to say he knows how to handle the pressure at this point. The Mavs are not going through a great streak right now, but it might be too soon to write them off.
