Mavs Film Room: Kyrie Irving's Scoring Prowess Brings Needed Firepower
After facing the need to acquire a co-star to pair with Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks caught the NBA by surprise and traded for Kyrie Irving.
Doncic is playing at an MVP level this season, averaging 33.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 8.2 assists, but has lacked a comparable co-star to take pressure off him. The Mavs have been vulnerable when Doncic is either injured or just on the sidelines within a game. However, the on-court workload that Doncic shoulders can lead to him being overtaxed by clutch time on some nights.
Irving immediately becomes the most talented player that Doncic has ever played with in his NBA career. With averages of 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, Irving now forms the highest-scoring duo in the league with Doncic. The talent level of the two guards combines to be by far the best backcourt in existence.
Part of the reason the Mavs were sorely in need of a co-star was to find an initiator capable of running the unit in non-Luka minutes. Dallas goes from producing a 118.7 offensive rating when Doncic is on the court to experiencing a massive drop down to a mere 106.8 offensive rating when he's on the sidelines. Irving's minutes could get staggered throughout games to maximize the team's offense through a full game.
Fielding a unit that deploys multiple dynamic pick-and-roll creators is a real asset. The Mavs thrived after Brunson's breakout last season due to this phenomenon. While Doncic has stamped himself as a transcendent talent in that regard, he has lacked that comparable running mate this season. Now, they have the top isolation threat and a generally creative scorer that poses nightmares for any defense.
Irving is a significant threat from anywhere, whether attempting a shot from deep off the 3-point line, mid-range, short-range, or getting to the rim. While it's often overused when discussing players, the phrase "three-level scorer" undoubtedly applies to him — and then some. Doncic has never had a teammate that checks all of these boxes.
Irving averages 10.8 points per game strictly from pull-up jump shots, which trails only Kevin Durant (12.2), Doncic (12.2), Devin Booker (11.4), and Stephen Curry (10.9). For someone like Irving who takes such challenging shots, it's highly impressive that he is executing at a rate of 1.139 points per possession on these attempts, which is even more efficient than the rate Doncic has converted.
One of the many reasons Doncic is so challenging for the defense to contain is his ability to use short-range jump shots as a bailout option. He can use his frame to get to a turnaround jumper or one-legged jumper without the defender being able to impact his release. Aside from Kevin Durant, this department hasn't had a more efficient high-volume threat than Doncic, but Irving isn't far behind.
When comparing the 27 players with at least 100 jump shot attempts from short-range this season, Doncic's output of 1.255 points per possession ranks second, while Irving's 1.157 points per possession is fifth. Suddenly, the Mavs become the most threatening team from this distance. Given how challenging it is for defenses to solve for it, there's potential for something special.
What's better than one dynamic short-range shot creator? How about having two of them? Irving is also among the NBA's elite in this area. He has an uncanny skill for creating separation against the defender, whether he's driving into a shot-blocking big, or is creating an advantage against a guard trying to keep up with him.
It's almost unfair for guards to try to contain Irving despite having a similar physical profile. With his combination of quickness and ability to use contact for an advantage, These are the matchups that he can utilize his frame and leverage contact, which he does quite effectively. It doesn't take much to
Even when a defender with more length like a wing is attempting to contain Irving, his deceleration and general creativity makes it hard for their bigger frames to keep up. If he has to shoot over a contest, it almost seems like he relishes the chance to complete a tough play as opposed to shy away from it. He can stop on a dime while the bigger defender is unable to do the same.
With how most teams fear deploying a traditional pick-and-roll coverage against Doncic, one of the "different doses" that gets thrown at him is to see a small ball unit that either switches or doubles to get the ball out of his hands. Irving's talent in this regard separates him from many guards. It's common for a guard to retreat dribble away or pass out of the play, but he instead gets the job done himself.
Where Irving differs from Doncic is in his vastly greater efficiency from mid-range and his much higher frequency in taking those looks. Irving is generating 1.147 points per possession using these attempts — ranking best in the NBA compared to the 47 players that have taken at least 50 of them.
The foundation of Irving's mid-range scoring prowess begins with his poise using step-backs to clear space, regardless of matchup. The opposition has to account for the damage that he may do to the defense if he gets deep on a drive and given the difficult to stay in front of him, the step-back is a great counter when the on-ball defender is playing to pressure a drive.
When Irving is breaking down a defender out in space, he's especially challenging to contain in mid-range. It doesn't take much for him to get the necessary separation he needs to quickly get into his shot process. He's often making a defender look foolish using hesitation moves before getting into a crossover or step-back. The whole time, the defender has to respect the threat of a quick trigger jump shot, further complicating the ability to make real-time decisions and movements.
Even though the handles that Irving possesses are difficult to contain, he also has a throwback ability to use triple-threat before raising up from mid-range without needing to dribble. He often uses a jab step to freeze the defender — forcing them to make a commitment either to press up to give up a drive, or leave enough space to concede the quick jumper. His meticulous approach often leads to an advantage. If the defender maintains a quality position, he can still fade back on the shot and convert.
Including when the Mavs had Brunson as Doncic's backcourt partner, the Mavs haven't had a remotely comparable perimeter shot creator to Irving. The step-back 3-pointers that Doncic likes to take puts a lot of pressure on the defense. The threat of that shot limits what the defense can do schematically. Adding a more efficient threat from deep taking tough shots makes Dallas that much more challenging to guard.
The techniques that Irving thrives using from inside the 3-point are similar to the ways he creates advantages when he's behind it. It's all the more difficult to contain him when he's operating behind the 3-point line since he is capable of pulling from far off the line. Having to respect his extended range affords him options to make the defender dance with less margin for error.
Dinwiddie is the only non-Doncic player on the Mavs that's averaging multiple pull-up 3-pointers, let along shooting even 33.0 percent on somewhat occasional volume. Irving averages the 11th most pull-up 3-point attempts per game in the NBA. He hasn't converted at an elite rate so far this season, but the aggression and threat of his reputation add real value into the mix.
As talented as Brunson is, Irving will be the first teammate that Doncic has ever played with that draws a comparable level of attention from the defense. Irving may draw his 4-on-3s as the ball handler. What makes him unique is that his shot-creation ability makes him a threat to break the defense himself, even late in the clock.
The simplest way to put it, the Mavs now have two of the NBA's elite shot creators after previously being limited to largely relying on just one threat. It's the ultimately way to raise the ceiling of an offense. Among the many areas that Doncic has shouldered a heavy burden for the Mavs offensively has been through lane penetration. He has to bring it on a nightly basis to serve as the foundation of the team's attack.
For as much of a ceiling raiser it is for the Mavs to gain Irving's shot creation, his crafty finishing ability is certainly worthy of attention, too. He has produced a 59.8 percentage field goal percentage on 10.8 drives per game this season. That does include short-range jumpers, but again, it just illustrates the dynamic end-result of his abilities when attacking downhill.
When looking purely at finishing, Irving is among the better in the NBA despite playing on a Nets team that often had one or two non-shooting threats negatively impacting the team's floor spacing. His output of 1.356 points per possession at the rim is a major improvement from the top supporting lane penetration options the Mavs have relied on throughout the season.
What separates Irving from many guards is his ability to break down just about defender out on an island, then still maintain an advantage deep on the drive to execute the finish. Whether he's being guarded by a longer wing like Jayson Tatum, or a guard like Fred VanVleet, Irving will give them the business. Since the defender has to fear the early jumper, he's tough to engage.
Even when Irving faces a developing double-team, he is quick and sneaky in evading it. He is often attacking baseline in these situations and making a positive play. The rest of the unit has a lot of pressure placed on it to recover. For a Mavs team that has multiple dynamic threats to attack closeouts like Doncic and Josh Green, it'll be challenging to commit help to Irving without it being exploited.
While Irving heavily relies on his pull-up jumper to set the tone for his ball screen scoring production, he leverages the threat of it to get to the rim quite well. He can finish effectively deep on the drive if he has to play through the big, but when the big doesn't commit, he picks on the on-ball defender with his pace and handle.
The Mavs can utilize Irving in the same handoff actions they like to utilize for their other scoring threats. The defense has to be cognizant of switching responsibilities and void giving up certain advantages in these situations, which can create windows for Irving to attack open lane for a finish in the paint.
There are other actions the Mavs can utilize Irving in to leverage his motion shooting talent, which is a trait the team lacked. Not only is their most talented option in this area, but he's also the only one capable of accepting a switch or being capable of consistently creating something out of nothing when the actual doesn't generate the cleanest of initial catch-and-shoot looks.
There is a real creativity in Irving's approach that separates him from almost any guard you'll find. When putting together the shot creation and finishing talent that Irving has, he has the genuine makings of a reliable co-star that elevates the unit as a whole. Factor in that motion shooting threat he poses and it's easy to see the value he provides any team.
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