Memphis Grizzlies Contain Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavs Using Aggressive Defensive Approach

Mavs superstar Kyrie Irving had an uncharacteristically poor performance against an aggressive Grizzlies defense. What should have been done differently?

DALLAS — With Luka Doncic sidelined for Friday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies for personal reasons, the Dallas Mavericks relied on Kyrie Irving as the only available superstar to set the tone. The Mavs were held to under 95 points on the night and put in reserves to close it out, losing the game 108-94. 

Without Doncic, the Mavs faced their first game of the season having to execute without him in the lineup. The team had gone 3-1 in four game with Irving while Doncic was out, but without Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dante Exum available, but sorely struggled to execute offensively on Friday night. 

Irving finished with only 10 points, while shooting 3-15 from the floor and missing all five of his 3-point attempts. The offense as as whole shot just 34-92 overall, converting at just a 37.0 percent clip. With the team going 12-39 (30.8 percent) from deep, they were just 22-53 (41.5 percent) on two-point field goals. 

"I think just understanding he might have gotten a little frustrated with being face-guarded," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "We've got to do a better job of getting him the ball and knowing how to play when something like that's happening. I'll take the blame for that in the sense that we didn't put him in a good situation to be successful."

With it being early in the season, Irving feels the team is still getting used to playing alongside each other, which only becomes additionally challenging when important players are sidelined. The All-Star guard acknowledged there being times when the team is still figuring out how to maximize their approach in getting him touches in positions to be successful. 

“I give a lot of grace to our team. There are times when it’s just me out there, and we’re trying to figure out how to get me the ball or positions," Irving said. "Having them create opportunities for me or being put in positions where I can be successful on the offensive end and defensive end. We are getting used to the rhythm of playing with each other still, and we have guys out tonight with different guys being put into the lineup."

Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving against the Memphis Grizzlies / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

With different personnel available, there are different reads that occur since the offense has a set of players with different capabilities and players are filling roles they normally aren't accustomed to fulfilling. Irving admitted he needs to communicate better about his touches and counters against defensive pressure. 

"Normal shots and normal reads that you have, it’s a different person out there, so it can be a level of adjustment, and we just have to be professionals about it," Irving said. "I’ve got to talk more and communicate better on where I need the basketball, where we can create better opportunities when they’re starting to double team me or triple team me."

As the focus of the offense, Irving felt the Grizzlies were overloading the paint to make it challenging for him to execute, along with generally applying full-court pressure at times, top-lock in various half-court actions, and face-guard him off-the-ball. It's a type of challenge he felt he hasn't faced in a while, but one he embraces. 

"Every time I touched the paint tonight, they were stepping out to my drive," Irving said. "You could tell they were emphasizing to deny me the basketball and staying physical. It’s been a while since I had one of these games, so I appreciate the challenge. I look forward to getting treatment and recovery and moving forward to the next game.”

Grant Williams, who finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, admitted the offense needs to be more effective at making it easier for the top options, particularly Irving on a night Doncic was out. 

“We have to do a better job at making other people’s lives easy," Williams said. "We made Kyrie’s night harder than it had to be tonight. They were top-locking him tonight across the court, and we didn't give him good opportunities to score."

In general, the Mavs felt the energy was lacking, often proving unable to win 50-50 balls and coming up short to close possessions. On a night when both teams understood hustle would be vital with key players sidelined, the Grizzlies proved to be the team more motivated to get the job done. 

"We have to play with a little more energy," Williams said. "We came out like we had Luka like we had the time to beat this team, and they came out with the opportunity of, ‘We both have guys out, so who’s going to play harder?’ That’s the team that typically wins games like these. They played harder than us. 

"They played tougher than us, and that’s a challenge that we have to understand and accept," Williams explained. "We don't have our guy that’s going to get us 35 [points], 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. We have to step up, and we underperformed.

Beyond the X's & O's element of what the Mavs dealt with on Friday, it didn't help that Irving admitted to feeling a "tweak" in his foot early in the game. 

"I had a bit of a tweak to my foot at the end of the first quarter, so just trying to get my balance underneath me — it's hard to settle back in once you feel a tweak like that, especially in your feet," Irving said. "I was just doing my best to stay mentally prepared for anything that could happen out there." 

The Mavs quickly return to action as they face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. With it being the second night of a back-to-back, naturally, there'll be questions about who will play. Irving felt it's likely he'll play but admitted further determination would be needed in the morning. 

"I'm looking like I'm going to play tomorrow, but we'll just see how it feels in the rising," Irving said.