The newly formed duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving was in full flow for the Dallas Mavericks. Since Kyrie Irving Joined Dallas, he has led the Mavs to two victories. His first victory with the Mavs came in his debut against the Los Angeles Clippers. The next came against the Kings. However, he played his first game with Luka last night, they couldn’t get the win. For which the Slovenian took responsibility for the loss.
The Dallas Mavericks improved on their existing point guard options with the introduction of Kyrie Irving. Since his arrival, he is averaging 25.6 points for the Mavs, which is significantly better than who he replaces. The Mavs lacked the quality to make team for championship contention. Bringing in Kyrie the Mavs traded away Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney Smith to the Brooklyn Nets. It is a much-needed upgrade to their existing options.
On the night against the Sacramento Kings, who are punching higher than their weight. The Kings are just above the Mavs at 3rd in the Western Conference. The Mavs have played 2 games more than the Kings and will need to get a winning run to go above them. Last night the Pair finally paired up and expectations were high for them against any opponents. However, they failed to get the win in their first game together.
Luka Doncic felt he should have given the ball back to Kyrie Irving before his step-back 3 in OT:
"It's my bad. I should have given it back to Kai. For me, it's still a learning process, but, for sure, I should have given it back to him. He was really hot down the stretch." pic.twitter.com/nXSm0u8MBm
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 12, 2023
Luka Doncic took the responsibility for the OT loss against the Kings, “It’s my bad. I should have given it back to Kai. For me, it’s still a learning process, but, for sure, I should have given it back to him. He was really hot down the stretch. So that’s on me for sure.” Said Doncic.
It’s just the start of life of this partnership and will be getting better with every game ahead.
Can Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving compensate for the Dallas Mavericks’ defensive woes?
The Loss against the Kings in a back-to-back fixture showed some worries for the Mavs. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for a total of 45 points, scoring 27 and 28 points respectively. However, the scoring on the night from the pair was low, it was the turnovers that kept the Kings in the game. At the end of the game, the Mavs had 16 turnovers. The Kings gave their first turnover in the 2nd half, which limited the Mavs from going way ahead.
Luka is still recovering from a heel injury and is not fully fit. However, in the absence of Luka, Kyrie is always stepping up. One important note is that 4 players of the Mavs played 40+ minutes. It does not look good enough for the Mavs to make them title contenders. Despite the defensive woes, Luka and Kyrie can compensate adequately in the offense. However, the Mavs will have to work on their defense before the playoffs start.