The Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic electrified fans by leading his team to a crucial victory in the fourth game of the NBA finals series. However, a supporter behind Luka’s young shoulders is assisting him with the play, guard Kyrie Irving. Doncic and Irving combined for 50 points in the fourth game against the Boston Celtics. Interestingly, Luka draws similarities to LeBron James‘ game, in which Irving played three seasons from 2014 to 2017. So, it was easy for Irving to become compatible with Luka’s play and match his pace. Yet the Mavs coach pointed out a key feature that Luka still lacks in comparison to the Lakers’ King James.

While speaking to ESPN about Luka and LeBron, Kidd mentioned, “They’re very similar, IQ-wise. Both just off the charts. Luka doesn’t have athleticism like LeBron has. But they do a lot of similar things, and they both really know the game.“ Notably, the 51-year-old Mav coach was assistant head coach at the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, where he observed the nuances of King James’ game. This led to the conclusion that Kidd had recently revealed. Apparently, Irving is playing with the mirror image of LeBron minus the height and stamina on the court.

Irving had an impressive record of 132-51 with LeBron during his career at the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, these stats expand over 3 years. While with Luka, Irving has a record of 40-27 in just a year. Irving is more of a guiding light at the Mavericks than an assist like he used to be with LeBron. Even Doncic told ESPN that Irving brought “calmness to our team and to me.“ He cools down the engines under pressure and acts as a teacher for Luka in tough situations.

Was Kyrie Irving’s underwhelming performance in the initial games of the NBA Finals due to Luka?

Though Kidd pointed out Luka’s shortcomings, it was Kyrie Irving’s own game that did not deliver well in the first two games. He could not provide the secondary support to Luka Doncic that he needed in the first two games.  Moreover, Irving had the worst +/- of anyone on the team at -19 during the first game of the NBA finals series. It was that he could not shoot his shots. The primary reason for his failure was the Celtics defenders, who swarmed up to stop him. They stopped Irving’s on-field play.

However, he rebounded in Game 3 with his 35-point play. But the omission of Luka from the game in the end minutes of the game due to his sixth foul on Brown took away the chance to fight. Irving himself could not get past the wall of the Celtics defenders and failed miserably. However, in Game 4, Doncic got ahead of his past mistakes and joined Irving to avoid the sweep against the Celtics.

Moving forward, Kyrie Irving would want to maintain the “aggression” for a comeback. Moreover, all the Mavs players will be on the lookout for a turnover after a drought of three games. Can Mavs really do it? Comment down your thoughts.

Before leaving, make sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA star rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.