I'm stunned but I shouldn't be. It's like this team is emerging from the dark ages. The BK (before Kyrie) era was increasingly frustrating to watch. I'll echo someone else's comment from another thread: seeing Luka go off for 50 while his teammates look on is impressive but not if that's what it takes to beat Detroit by 5. It's only been two games but the way this team is playing now is a total 180.
Kyrie is a Hall of Famer. I think everyone knows he's good. But the way he has absolutely dominated the game while quietly scoring 25 reminds me of nothing less than prime Dirk.
Luka is going to learn a ton from him - I hope. When Luka is off the ball he usually just gets out of the way. He'll draw his defender (and sometimes two) well beyond the three point line and Brunson or Widdie would cook. Or Luka would post up and do his thing.
But Kyrie's off ball action - the cutting, the odd angles he takes, the screens, directing traffic - it's nothing less than game changing. Dinwiddie is a very good player but we're witnessing why there's a huge gap between very good and great.
I invented a new stat just for Kyrie. It's called a Virtual Assist (VA) and in two games I've seen him get multiple. They can be hard to see. They're subtle. But when Kyrie is jogging next to a guy like THJ who has the ball at mid-court, and Kai refuses a pass, gives THJ a glance and cuts across the play, and then THJ suddenly finds Green wide open off a half court pass for a wide open corner three, that's a VA. Incredibly fun to watch.
Of course, I'll acknowledge, it's not all Kyrie. The faster pace was apparent before Kyrie even took the floor. Green is getting more playing time. Hardy provides a spark. McGee looks like a different player. There's less Wood and he's back to providing scoring punch off the bench. THJ still isn't scoring efficiently but his game looks less stilted. DFS was my second favorite player but we all know he was limited athletically. Maybe it was time to move on. Dinwiddie just played Luka's style, but less effectively. Maybe this team needed more diversity.
Dawn of a new era of Mavs basketball? The AK (after Kyrie) era? I sure hope so. I haven't been this excited about the future of this team since Luka's rookie year.
There are still issues though and I'll talk about what I'm seeing in my next post.
Kyrie is a Hall of Famer. I think everyone knows he's good. But the way he has absolutely dominated the game while quietly scoring 25 reminds me of nothing less than prime Dirk.
Luka is going to learn a ton from him - I hope. When Luka is off the ball he usually just gets out of the way. He'll draw his defender (and sometimes two) well beyond the three point line and Brunson or Widdie would cook. Or Luka would post up and do his thing.
But Kyrie's off ball action - the cutting, the odd angles he takes, the screens, directing traffic - it's nothing less than game changing. Dinwiddie is a very good player but we're witnessing why there's a huge gap between very good and great.
I invented a new stat just for Kyrie. It's called a Virtual Assist (VA) and in two games I've seen him get multiple. They can be hard to see. They're subtle. But when Kyrie is jogging next to a guy like THJ who has the ball at mid-court, and Kai refuses a pass, gives THJ a glance and cuts across the play, and then THJ suddenly finds Green wide open off a half court pass for a wide open corner three, that's a VA. Incredibly fun to watch.
Of course, I'll acknowledge, it's not all Kyrie. The faster pace was apparent before Kyrie even took the floor. Green is getting more playing time. Hardy provides a spark. McGee looks like a different player. There's less Wood and he's back to providing scoring punch off the bench. THJ still isn't scoring efficiently but his game looks less stilted. DFS was my second favorite player but we all know he was limited athletically. Maybe it was time to move on. Dinwiddie just played Luka's style, but less effectively. Maybe this team needed more diversity.
Dawn of a new era of Mavs basketball? The AK (after Kyrie) era? I sure hope so. I haven't been this excited about the future of this team since Luka's rookie year.
There are still issues though and I'll talk about what I'm seeing in my next post.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)