Kyrie Irving is Playing Perfect Basketball

The Dallas Mavericks just took a 3-0 lead over the Timberwolves, and throughout this game Kyrie Irving was having a massive impact. In this video we're going to do a deep dive on the film, and break down exactly how he did it. So far in the playoffs, Kyrie has been lights out from 3, and make or miss he was looking to pull the trigger whenever he had space. You'll see him here pushing the ball in transition, and when this defender drops back below the 3, Irving's Now on this play, Kyrie is working off these staggered screens, and with Gobert sitting back in draft, notice how Kyrie is going to bolt come tightly off this screen, and push the ball out into this left right 3. And Irving's ability to quickly get shots both off the dribble and catch, allows him to effectively space the floor for Dallas' offense. With the ball on the perimeter, Kyrie pulls some aggressive defensive rotations, which opens up the floor, and allows the Mavs to play with an advantage off his gravity. Notice how Jaden McDaniels on this play is going to slide over and gap, taking away Kyrie's pull of 3 off his screen, but this opens up an easy swing past the Luka Doncic for a spot up jumper. And Irving also has the same effect when playing off the ball, where his man is hesitant to roam off him, which again opens up the floor for Dallas' offense. Right here, we'll see Luka working off his ball screen, with Irving spotting up on the opposite wing, and notice how Irving's shooting threat pulls Anthony Edwards out of gap, allowing Luka to slice through, collapse the defense, and set up this corner 3. We can see the same effect on this play, where Doncic is initiating a post up, and Kyrie is spacing out towards the ball side corner, and watch how this pulls Jaden McDaniels out of gap, giving Luka the space to play one on one. And Irving's outside shooting also opens up the rest of his scoring, where the defense is forced to step out and meet him on the perimeter, which gives Kyrie the leverage to initiate his attacks off the dribble. When playing off the catch, Irving loves to keep the game simple. Watch him here get Conley to open up his stance by dropping down into this wide jab step, then he's going to lift up, and drop back down into this low rip to his right. And as the weak side big rotates over, Irving's going to veer back into Conley's body, and rise up for this 2 foot floater. On this play, he's going to set up the same move, but when Ant overreacts to the jab step, Irving's going to explode to his left, to then again stop onto and rise up for this soft left hand floater. And that simplicity also carries over to Kyrie's game off the dribble. Watch him here attack to his right and swipe with his off ball, to pull himself into this drive. Then he's going to stop onto and initiate contact to draw the foul. Off the bounce, Irving is also really good at reading the defense and capitalizing on breakdowns. You'll see him here working off his screen, and notice how Carl Anthony Town steps up to meet him at the level. So Irving's going to first attack outside of his frame, to then quickly pull the ball back. And as soon as Irving's going to transfer the ball back through and re-attack into this open space, to then get into this quick pull up. Irving throughout this game was also showcasing one of his best skills, which is his ability to slice through gaps and play in traffic. There's nobody in the NBA who's better at navigating through the defense than Kyrie Irving, and it all comes from his footwork and balance. Watch him here catch and rip to his right, and as Nas Reid steps down a gap, notice how Irving is going to gather off his right foot, to then bring the ball up and extend through with his next stride. And from this spot, he's got the body control and touch to finish. This play really shows how strong Kyrie is. You'll see him here start backing down against Mike Conley, and as Irving initiates contact with his inside shoulder, notice how he picks up and creeps his inside foot through this gap, to then again bring the ball up and step through, and he gets back to this soft floater over the shot blocker. And all that strength and balance carries right over to Irving's midrange game, where he's great at initiating contact, to then bounce out and separate for these stable jumpers. You'll see him here isolating against Gobert, and Irving is going to first string some moves together, to then drop down and attack towards the middle. And notice how Kyrie is going to and step back off his inside foot, then he's going to land and rotate his body towards the basket as he elevates. This was also a huge bucket down the stretch, where the Mavs are going to clear out the entire right side of the floor for Irving, and as Kat steps up and meets him out beyond the 3, Irving is going to explode into this right hand drop, and he's able to get Kat to open up his stance, allowing Kyrie to stop and separate for this jumper. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe, and let me know in the comments what you think of Kyrie's game. The Kid's Here!