Irving entering Chris Paul territory
Ricky Rubio has stolen most of the attention for this rookie class (including here at Playbook), but there is another young point guard in Cleveland showing off his immense potential as well. Kyrie Irving has taken a downtrodden Cavs franchise and surprisingly moved them into the hunt for a low playoff seed. Rubio and Irving have surely touched off a few “who would you rather have” debates among fans, so it’s probably safe to say they are the 1 and 1A of this rookie crop.
While Rubio’s style of play is a hybrid of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, Kyrie’s game has a lot of Chris Paul in it. It was even apparent in last night’s (ugly) win over the Knicks. Irving finished with a mere seven points, he was still able to control the game and dish out seven assists. His playmaking, pace and precocious understanding of game management were all very much on display.
The first clip we’ll look at occurs very early in the game during a transition push by the Cavs off a missed shot. Anthony Parker finds Irving in the middle of court. Notice that as the ball is just getting to Irving’s hands, his eyes are already up court “taking pictures” (a David Thorpe term) of the action ahead.
Irving continues to scan the floor as he pushes the ball ahead. Upon reaching half-court, Irving notices that Amare Stoudamire is dropping deep to protect the rim (a habit of a post in transition) instead of paying attention to Antwan Jamison’s run along the right lane. Irving sees both this drop and Jamison slowing his run to station himself near the three point line for a jumper. Irving promptly delivers the ball at the exact time Stoudamire is reaching the deepest part of his transition retreat. This combination of vision and timing by Irving allows for an unhurried attempt by Jamison.
In the next video, Irving makes an incredible poised play for such a young player. After some initial action away from him, Irving is denied ball reversal by everyone’s favorite Knick, Toney Douglas. Irving makes the correct read and makes a hard backdoor cut. His cut toward the rim, however, is met by a quick-reacting Tyson Chandler.
Here is where we see some special qualities from Kyrie. Instead of forcing a tough drop off pass through Chandler’s hands (which a high percentage of players would do) to Varejao (who also has Stoudamire right on his back), Irving slows himself down, takes one dribble into the paint and hits a wide open Omri Casspi on the opposite side for the floor.
Seeing Casspi, given the pace/nature of the action leading up to the delivery of the ball is a rare enough feat for most young players. Kyrie takes it a step further by not only adroitly reading the second line of defenders, but purposefully and calmly navigating to a window to make an accurate pass. In short, this rather non-descript play shows why Irving could be rather special.
In a pick and roll later in the second quarter, Kyrie makes very Paul-like read off a pick and roll in the middle of the floor. Paul is very adept at “creasing” (changing sides underneath the screening when the big zones up) ball screens and wrecking all sorts of havoc from there.
After a high ball screen from Varejao, Irving creases and puts immediate pressure on the Knicks help-side defense. Varejao delays his roll to time up Kyrie’s shifty movement toward the rim. As Varajeo starst to dive Irving delivers a brilliantly executed ‘pocket’ pass that leads to a wide open dunk for the Brazilian big man.
In the final clip, Irving showcases another quality that makes Paul so special; the ability to move at a controlled pace during a transition push. In high school and college, most players are instructed to play as fast and as hard as they can, this often leads to players moving at a speed where it’s impossible to make good reads. Playing a notch below full speed (and speeding up only when necessary), even in transition, is a nuance that sometimes takes years to fully master.
Like Paul, Irving shows the ability to play with an excellent understanding of pace. In the third quarter versus the Knicks, the Cavs run out off a miss. Kyrie pushes ahead quickly at first, probing New York’s defense then slows when starting to reach an operating area. As he slows, his head is immediately on a swivel looking to see where the rest of the players on the floor are.
Since Tyson Chandler is the last to arrive, Landry Fields is cut protecting the basket and hasn’t yet been ‘kicked out’ to a perimeter player. Irving notices this and realizes that Parker will be lost in the shuffle. Kyrie delivers the ball in rhythm and the result is a wide open 3-pointer.
More than anyone to enter the league recently, Irving, like Paul, has the ability to manage a game through both scoring and distribution. Rubio will always be labeled as the better playmaker due to his flashy and clever passing skills. But don’t let Kyrie’s impressive scoring numbers mislead you, he can more than hold his own in that other category.
