Teams in the NBA will find it hard to succeed without an ideal pairing between two talented players. The Mavericks Dallas duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving has been remarkable since Irving was traded to Dallas. They had quite an impressive short stint together last season before they were limited due to injuries.
However, the former Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford has great hopes for the duo moving forward. Crawford praises the Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving duo and mentions them as sitting at the top of the most talented backcourt in the NBA compared with other duos.
Jamal Crawford hails Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving
During a discussion on the Mavericks’ potential for contention of a championship with analyst Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford praised the Luka-Kyrie partnership.
Crayford said, “You can make an argument that these two are the most skilled backcourt players to ever play together. EVER.”
Jamal Crayford’s words are high praise as it came from a legend who is widely recognized as one of the best ball handlers in the history of the league. Additionally, Crayford also stated that the duo needs to improve their defensive skills and assume stronger leadership roles.
Crawford said, “I think this year they’ve got to hold each other accountable. There is no way around it. If we’re trying to win, you’ve got to call me out on my stuff….we have to bring these guys along with us. We have to make these guys better….And we have to defend this only way we’ve had the chance. We’ll score enough.”
Jamal Crayford’s words might have the right influence on Luka and Kyrie’s confidence, but everyone hopes they stay healthy.
Is Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic the ideal duo?
Though injuries have been a hindrance to the duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, they managed to be among the top-scoring duos in the NBA last season. This has raised greater expectations that the legend Jamal Crawford can’t be far from the truth with his praises for them.
The duo can be considered the ideal pair for the Mavericks owing to quite a few reasons. Firstly, the duo has combined to score 59.4 points per game when compared to other pairings like Tatum-Brown, LeBron-Davis, Durant-Booker, Curry-Thompson, Leonard-George, and Jokic-Murray.
Secondly, the duo has been great in setting up others, which is very rare for superstar duos in the NBA. The duo combined an average of 14 assists per game. When compared to the previously mentioned six duos, they were second to only Nuggets’ Jokic and Murray who had 16 assists per game.
Finally, the duo has been great in offense due to the size of Doncic who also combines great skills going forward, hence, his pairing with Irving will leave other teams in a difficult situation trying to contend with them.
Could the impressiveness of Luka and Kyrie’s partnership continue in the new season? Only time will tell what Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will achieve together at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
Share your thoughts of what you think about the pair of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the comment section.
