SUMMARY
- Kyrie Irving has been playing at an elite level towards the end of games in these playoffs.
- A comparison of Irving's current postseason stats with his 2016 playoffs stats.
After eliminating the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, Kyrie Irving is being discussed all across the NBA community. Irving joined the Dallas Mavericks towards the end of last season but failed to make the playoffs during his first season with the Mavs. Things appear very different this season as Dallas is currently in the Western Conference semi-finals and is set to face off against the OKC Thunder.
Fans who watched Game 6 between the Mavs and Clippers will know that Irving started off the game quite slow. However, he picked up pace towards the second half of the game and helped Dallas defeat the Clippers.
Kyrie Irving averaged 5.5 points per game in the 4th quarter of the 2015-2016 playoffs
Before this season with the Dallas Mavericks, one could argue that the best years of Kyrie Irving’s NBA career were during his time with LeBron James. After all, their success in the 2016 NBA Finals is still discussed by the basketball community in present times. Led by Irving and LeBron, the Cavs made NBA history by being the only team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
In the first round of that postseason, Irving averaged 5.5 points on 37.5% from the three-point line and 35.3% from the field. Since he was younger and less experienced at that point in time, perhaps those numbers do not look as impressive to fans. However, Kyrie has improved radically over the past decade.
Irving is much more efficient so far this postseason at 9.7 points scored in the last quarter
To those who do not know, Irving was only 24 years old during the 2016 NBA playoffs and is currently 32. He has continued to diligently work on his game over the years and has established himself as one of the most clutch 4th quarter players in this postseason for the Mavs.