Well, at least the Dallas Mavericks won’t be boring.
It’s not hard to come up with reasons why Season 2 of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic will be just as unsuccessful as Season 1. The easiest thing Mark Cuban could have done would be to move on from this experiment after its initial failure.
Irving has a well-earned polarizing reputation that has continued to deteriorate. From his anti-vaxxer views which caused him to miss playing time in 2021-22 to his suspension last due to anti-Semitic posts last season, Irving is surrounded by negativity entirely of his own creation. When you consider his injury history, he’s an All-Star who probably isn’t worth the trouble. Just ask the Brooklyn Nets.
Dallas made a bold move by acquiring Irving mid-season last year to fill the void created by Jalen Brunson leaving for the New York Knicks as a free agent. Amazingly the Mavericks went 9-16 after the trade, falling out of playoff contention. Despite the disappointment, they retained Irving on a three-year deal. They’re doubling down, convinced that a full season of Doncic and Irving will yield better results. That these two ball-dominant wing players will find a way to coexist.
It’s important to note that Doncic and Irving played 16 games together. Yes, Dallas’ record was 5-11 but that’s a tiny sample size. Irving, at least offensively, played spectacularly well for the Mavericks. In 20 games, he averaged 27 points, 6.0 assists, and shot 51 percent (39.2 from beyond the arc). Irving is among the most gifted guards in NBA history when it comes to ball-handling, making pull-up jumpers, and finishing around the rim. He doesn’t have an offensive weakness.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe is eager to see how Irving will fare in 2023-24.
“It’s a team that needs to win, and now it’s time for all the drama to be done,” he said on NBA Today. “Let’s just play basketball. Show me that we can actually do that because it’s been a while since there’s been just Kyrie Irving, the basketball player. That’s what the Mavericks are paying for. The drama is over, for now.”
A drama-free Irving seems like a contradiction. He has consistently made headlines for his behavior off the court rather than his play on the court. And despite being a lightning rod of controversy, he remains popular with young people. For the second half of the 2022-23 season, he had the 10th top-selling jersey, ahead of MVPs Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid.
While the focus will be on Irving, Doncic bares some responsibility for making this union work.
Doncic was comfortable playing with Brunson, who accepted his role being the No. 2 option. He took 12.8 shots per game to Doncic’s 21.6 in 2021-22, the season when the Mavericks reached the Western Conference Finals. Last year, Irving took 19.2 shots to Doncic’s 22.0. That can be a big adjustment to make. Irving has played with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and James Harden, so he understands the value of fitting in. But Doncic has never had to share the ball with another superstar. Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki and Doncic played only 42 games together and that was in Nowitzki’s final season in 2018-19.
That’s not all. Doncic has drawn criticism for his conditioning. Trying to play your way into shape in the highly competitive West is a bad idea. The Phoenix Suns are loaded. The Los Angeles Lakers should be better. And the Denver Nuggets are the defending champion. Doncic and Irving need to be healthy and at their best from the start.
Chemistry and defensive shortcomings could doom the Mavericks in 2023-24. But the dynamic duo of Doncic and Irving are stuck with each other. We’ll see if they can figure it out.
