Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving Proving That Scoring Guard Duo Formula Can Work (2024)

When the Dallas Mavericks traded for Kyrie Irving in February 2023, the move was met with many raised eyebrows from critics and fans alike. Irving had just unceremoniously exited from the Brooklyn Nets amid their most successful season, concluding a confusing and disappointing era next to Kevin Durant in New York.

This had wrapped up a six-year stretch where Irving played in zero conference finals games, missed several playoff runs with injury, and had some of the weirdest off-court moments in recent memory. Needless to say, people wondered whether he would ever contribute to winning again or just float into retirement as one of basketball's most spectacular what-ifs.

Perhaps more importantly, no one knew whether a pairing of two ball-dominant, isolation-scoring guards would be conducive to playoff success. There were concerns about each player's role, how they would defend, and whether Luka Dončić could get the best out of Irving.

Just a year later, the two stars are proving everyone wrong, and have Dallas one win away from the NBA Finals.

Dončić, Irving Roles Have Not Been an Issue at All

Batman/Robin setup has worked in the past

Putting two players who needed the ball to work their incredible scoring magic together seemed like a recipe for disaster, as one player was going to have to make huge sacrifices for the sake of the team. Viewers wondered how Irving would deal with playing off the ball for long stretches of the game and watching Dončić work in the clutch from an outsider's perspective after being such a great closer for his entire career.

However, Irving has a lot of experience as the secondary scoring option to an all-time great player, having done it next to LeBron James to great success, as well as Durant in Brooklyn. Kyrie is the perfect player to be a team's second scorer because of his off-ball excellence, which he showed specifically as a Cleveland Cavalier with James on three straight finals runs in as many years together.

In fact, Irving's worst seasons came as a Boston Celtic, when he had to lead a team and bear the full offensive burden as a number one option.

Irving is one of the very best players in the league in spot-up situations, both as a shooter and a closeout attacker. Its unsurprising that he is elite at attacking closeouts, considering his incredible handle, quickness, and footwork that already serves him so well in more difficult isolation situations.

Although fans don't always think of Irving as a deadeye shooter because of all the flashy scoring tools he uses, he is also one of the NBA's best marksmen, making him an even better off-ball player.

*This chart lists every year Irving has played next to James, Durant, or Dončić

The eight-time All-Star has been remarkably accurate from three-point land, shooting just under 40% (39.3%) for his career, which ranks 12th for active players in that time span. When given great looks, consistently playing with legends like James, Durant, and Dončić, he can torch a defense from long distance just like any other sharpshooter.

Kyrie’s Presence Has Given Luka Badly-Needed In-Game Rest

Lesser offensive burden has allowed Dončić to focus on defense

One of the best aspects of Irving's arrival in Dallas has been unlocking other parts of Dončić's game that he was too exhausted to focus on in the past. Over the first five seasons of his career, the Slovenian superstar made an extremely poor effort defensively because of the heavy burden he was carrying to lift his team on his own offensively.

With Irving's presence on the floor alongside Dončić, he can delegate much of that burden to his co-star, which has allowed him to dedicate more energy to the defensive end of the floor. Shockingly, Dončić has now become more than a competent defender, and the rest of the Mavericks have followed suit. Irving himself is playing better on that end than ever before, and Dallas is now an elite defense with very few holes.

Critics of this pairing cited the flaws in a "my-turn-your-turn" style of offense, but failed to foresee the team-wide benefits of the playing style. Not only have they helped each other save energy and get better looks, but their teammates have reaped the benefits of having a superstar shot creator on the floor at all times.

Guys that were brought in to fix Dallas' defense, size, and toughness issues are thriving offensively with their high quality opportunities. PJ Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively have all had meaningful offensive contributions and are playing beyond their normal abilities, in part because of Dončić and Irving and all the attention they receive.

Duo Makes Dallas Unstoppable in Clutch Situations

Mavericks have been nearly perfect in close playoff games

The most influential part of this duo's success has been their incredible performance in the clutch moments. They're simply unstoppable in slow-down half-court environments at the end of games because they have two guys who can get their own shot better than anybody, and opponents aren't able to focus too much attention on either player.

No matter who is on the other side, Dallas feels confident that Dončić and Irving will outplay them down the stretch. This has been the theme of their 3-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves and their lockdown defense, with all three games coming right down to the wire. In each contest, Dallas out-executed Minnesota and got a better shot each time down the floor, making three close wins seem very comfortable.

Presumed NBA Finals opponent Boston is a superior team to the Mavericks talent-wise, but in any close game, Dallas has the advantage, making it anyone's series.

Dallas has played in nine tightly contested games during this postseason run, and has emerged victorious in seven. This is ultimately the difference between sitting at home already and being one win away from surviving the Western Conference gauntlet to play for the championship trophy.