Kyrie Irving

The Kyrie Irving-Luka Doncic era has not been an instant success in Dallas following the former's midseason trade from the Brooklyn Nets.

4 seed, but only two games ahead of the 13th-placed Thunder. These two players love having the ball in their hands. “Really want to win here, really put a lot of pressure on myself at times,” Irving said.

Kyrie Irving said he is pressing as he continues to acclimate himself with a new team after being traded to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 6. Speaking to…

They are seventh in the Western Conference standings with a 32-31 record. In addition to the team pressure around Irving, he is also under a microscope because of his contract status. It just hasn't translated into success for the team so far. "Really want to win here, really put a lot of pressure on myself at times. "I just appreciate the coaching staff and my teammates trusting me with that shot and just the comfort they gave me afterwards," he said. He's averaging 24.7 points on 49.2 percent shooting, 6.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds per contest.

The Mavs' star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving was expected to be dynamic but instead has been dormant, resulting in a 1-4 record.

He made it clear that he still wants to win with the Mavs but acknowledged that there is work to be done. “I just appreciate the coaching staff and my teammates trusting me with that shot and just the comfort they gave me afterwards,” Irving said, via ESPN. Mavs coach Jason Kidd didn’t find a way to mesh the talents of his two stars in that critical play, resulting in a fifth loss over their last six games.

The Dallas Mavericks are in a funk and have a lot of things to figure out if they want to make the playoffs. Kyrie Irving believes adjusting his aggression ...

Last night the mercurial guard had an opportunitity to be a hero against the Indiana Pacers but his attempted game-winner bounced harmlessly off the rim. The ...

I'm at that place now, but I think I just need to scale back and let the game come to me and flow into it, because when we're playing that tense, I can feel the intensity around me. "It's the big business, baby," Irving surmised. Easy to criticize, but for us, I've just got to focus on being the best that I can be and showing up for not only Luka, but for my teammates." "The last two games, I just haven't played with the fluidity of my game and just complementing others and just doing the little things to get us wins," he added. "I just appreciate the coaching staff and my teammates trusting me with that shot and just the comfort they gave me afterwards," Irving said following the defeat. [enough to think a mid-season addition of Kyrie could ever work](https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/kyrie-irving-trade-mavs-winners-nets-losers-lakers-kevin-durant-01grhka7sjx9) - is that there were expansive comments from the newest guy in town and they all sound pretty chill and positive.

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving admitted to feeling the pressure following the trade, but should the entire team be feeling it after another loss?

The Dallas Mavericks are still figuring out the best way to play. There will be mistakes, but the Mavs cannot afford for those to They must increase their defense if they want to qualify for the playoffs and make a run. [loss to the Indiana Pacers](https://thesmokingcuban.com/posts/luka-doncic-dallas-mavericks-loss-pacers-24th-birthday) on Tuesday evening. Irving admitted to feeling pressure postgame, but should the entire organization be feeling it after losing five of their last six games? They made a comeback in the fourth, but the Mavericks slipped to 4-5 since the [blockbuster trade](https://thesmokingcuban.com/posts/dallas-mavericks-trade-grade-2023-kyrie-irving-blockbuster) for [Kyrie Irving](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/i/irvinky01.html).

The Dallas Mavericks are in a funk and have a lot of things to figure out if they want to make the playoffs. Kyrie Irving believes adjusting his aggression ...

“I think we should be talking about the whole team because we play as a team,” Doncic said. “We lose, and we win as a team. It's not just about two players. It ...

He’s been watching me play for a long time, and he just told me to stay aggressive, and he looked like I was overthinking out there.” “And I was just telling him like that we have new lineups. As much pressure as I put on myself, I have goals that I would love to accomplish, but all those are pushed to the side because I know I have 15 other guys on this team that are relying on me to do things that they’ve either seen me do, or they’re expecting me to do as one of the best players in the league. So sitting alongside Luka, I just have to show up to the party. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. “I think I need to scale it back a little bit, just because the second half of the season, just feeling like we’ve got to be great every single possession, and usually these learning curves or learning moments happen in preseason, and it’s happening now.” “I would love to play well, every single night I was just texting with my dad — my biggest fan, one of my harshest critics. [Kevin Durant](https://www.nj.com/nets/2023/03/kevin-durants-debut-in-phoenix-is-the-latest-highly-anticipated-premiere-for-a-suns-player.html), is set to make his Suns debut Wednesday night after not having played since Jan. Dallas (32-31) is currently the No. “We lose, and we win as a team. “Really want to win here, really put a lot of pressure on myself at times,” Irving, the West Orange native and former St. 8 due to an MCL sprain.

(on how the Mavericks need to improve defensively...) “– seeing the fourth quarter, the defense was pretty good and gave us a shot. That's big. Just understand ...

Last two games, I just haven’t played with the fluidity of my game, and just complimenting others and doing the little things to get the win.” We got some great coaches that really demand excellence out of themselves, and demand excellence out of us.” Just because the second half of the season, we’re not going to be great every single possession. But I don’t think the effort was bad.” “I don’t think the effort was bad. “I think we should be talking about the whole team because we play as a team. But, Luka did a great job of staying patient, attacking, and I thought he did a great job in the paint and finishing. Offensively for us, we dominated the paint due to his ability to shoot the three. Just understand the guys that played in the fourth quarter put us in a position to win that game, or tie it. [You can read more about the game here](https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2023/2/28/23619675/mavs-vs-pacers-recap-124-122-dallas-loss-to-indiana), but here’s what Jason Kidd, Luka Doncic, and Kyrie Irving had to say about the loss. Executed the last play, Kai [Kyrie Irving] had the option for the two or the three. [Dallas Mavericks lost the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night in a close one, 122-124](https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2023/2/28/23619675/mavs-vs-pacers-recap-124-122-dallas-loss-to-indiana).

We're in the home stretch of the regular season now with some teams having fewer than 20 games remaining, about a quarter of the way to go.

Now 25-7 at home this season and 32-30 overall, Golden State finds themselves in the top 5 in the West, which maybe didn’t seem so possible when news of Steph Curry’s injury first came down. Haliburton put the game on ice with some free throws at that point, stopping any hope of a comeback. OKC was missing their star point guard too in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, so Jalen Williams picked up the slack with 27 points and eight assists. San Antonio starters combined to shoot 0-11 from three, but their bench shot a blistering 8-15 to counteract the starters’ shortcomings. They were about twice as effective as Memphis from beyond the arc, but turned the ball over 20 more times, churning out a recipe for losses. Nikola Vucevic (23) and Pascal Siakam (20) were the game’s only 20-point scorers. Over a 19:23 stretch from the second quarter to the fourth, Milwaukee swung an 11-point deficit into a 12-point lead. it weren’t for you meddling kids he didn’t go 0-5 from three and miss two of his 11 free throw attempts. Hawks led by as much as nine earlier in the half. After 31 points on his night, Mikal Bridges is now averaging 23.8 points since joining the Nets following the Kevin Durant trade. To make the tension even tighter, all 10 of the teams in that range are somewhere between 4-6 and 6-4 over their last 10 games, so there isn’t even really a team starting to rise above the rest, though Kevin Durant making his Suns debut on Wednesday could make Phoenix the team that rises. The final playoff and play-in slots have been closely contested all season, but get some added intensity now.

'I wanted to see where we can go with that because we were both playing at a high level,' the 34-year-old forward said on The ETCs with Kevin Durant podcast ...

What [Irving] was doing behind the scenes, what his contract negotiations was, I don't want to even think about none of that stuff. 'I wanted to see where we can go with that because we were both playing at a high level. 'I can't fault somebody for doing that even though it might have been at our expense as a team...I don't wanna act like I wasn't upset that we didn't finish the season, because I love playing with [Irving].' [Durant was dealt to the Suns](/sport/nba/article-11730457/The-Phoenix-Suns-trading-Kevin-Durant-blockbuster-Brooklyn-Nets.html), along with T.J. [off-court controversies](/sport/nba/article-11728007/Kyrie-Irvings-controversies-NBAs-polarizing-star.html) proved to be too much to handle for all three All-Stars, as [Irving was the first of the trio to leave Brooklyn for the Dallas Mavericks](/sport/nba/article-11715949/Kyrie-Irving-traded-Dallas-Mavericks-joins-forces-Luka-Doncic-Brooklyn-Nets.html) in a three-team trade after asking the Nets front office to be dealt with. [The 34-year-old moved to Phoenix in January](/sport/nba/article-11730457/The-Phoenix-Suns-trading-Kevin-Durant-blockbuster-Brooklyn-Nets.html), days after [Irving's trade to Dallas](/sport/nba/article-11715949/Kyrie-Irving-traded-Dallas-Mavericks-joins-forces-Luka-Doncic-Brooklyn-Nets.html)

Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant said on "The ETCs" podcast that he doesn't fault Kyrie Irving for wanting out of Brooklyn.

According to multiple reports, Irving asked for a trade after both sides were unable to come to terms on a contract extension. On Feb.5, two days after Irving’s trade demand rocked the NBA world, multiple reports said that Irving and Markieff Morris were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and draft picks. Durant gave his opinion on the Irving trade request on a new episode of “The ETCs” podcast that published on Tuesday.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving haven't spoken since the pair were traded from the Brooklyn Nets.

I don’t wanna act like I wasn’t upset that we didn’t finish the season, because I love playing with [Irving]. I wanted to see where we can go with that because we were both playing at a high level. “We all move and do the things that we wanna do for our careers,” Durant said during the show.

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant said he was disappointed he was unable to finish out the season with Kyrie Irving but does not fault him for his trade ...

"His game is so big that you gotta watch him. [STEPH CURRY’S WARRIORS TEAMMATE RECALLS FIRST IMPRESSION OF STAR GUARD: ‘CLOSEST THING TO JESUS CHRIST’](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/steph-currys-warriors-teammate-recalls-first-impression-star-guard-closest-thing-jesus-christ) "I wanted to see where we could go with that because we were both playing at a high level." "It’s unique. "I’m disappointed that we didn’t finish the season, but I also know we’re all our separate entities," Durant said. [12th NBA season](https://www.foxnews.com/category/sports/nba).

Many frequently forget that Kyrie Irving made the game-winning shot in the 2016 NBA Finals, which the Cleveland Cavaliers won over the Golden State Warriors ...

He has also had to cope with the tremendous publicity that comes with being a member of a “big three” alliance. Kyrie Irving chose to play for the Brooklyn Nets with James Harden and Kevin Durant despite the fact that it looks like he has always wanted to be the center of attention. It’s tough to avoid concluding that Kyrie Irving’s refusal to continue competing in LeBron James’ shadow is the reason he didn’t wind up joining the Lakers that summer.

Kevin Durant stood by Kyrie Irving throughout his former teammate's off-court issues that hampered the Brooklyn Nets' chances of success.

The Nets were reportedly prepared for the possibility of Durant sitting out until he got a change of scenery. The Suns (33-29) hold the fourth spot in the West, while the Mavericks (32-31) are seventh. The Nets, unsurprisingly, asked for a treasure trove of assets in return for the former MVP. He supposedly got permission from the Brooklyn Nets to look for a sign-and-trade partner. When nothing came of that, he opted into the final year of his contract. Kevin Durant stood by Kyrie Irving throughout his former teammate's off-court issues that hampered the Brooklyn Nets' chances of success.

Kyrie Irving senses the stress of trying to figure things out with Luka Doncic and the rest of his new Dallas teammates.

The next game, they exchanged three passes and didn't get off a shot in the final seconds of a 124-121 loss at home to Minnesota. “Sitting alongside Luka, I just have to show up to the party.” Then Irving missed a contested 3 with Doncic watching from a corner against the Pacers, who had won just four of their previous 21 games. “I really want to win here, really put a lot of pressure on myself,” Irving said. “At times, I think I need to scale it back a little bit. That would be a catastrophic outcome considering what the club gave up to get Irving with no guarantee that he will re-sign as an unrestricted free agent this summer.