Redux Mavs-Kings: play again, this time hopefully with Luka

Jack WolfFebruary 12, 2023

SACREMENTO. Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown managed Cleveland during the 2013-2014 season when Kyrie Irving was a young point guard trying to find his way into the NBA.

But even at this early stage, Brown knew what he was looking at.

So what made young Irving stand out?

“Talented, talented individual,” Brown said. “He was still very young and sort of learning the league. But then you could say that he was great. I’ve been around a lot of great players and he’s done what a lot of people I’ve never seen before were doing. Judging by his ability to handle the ball, being as small as he is, being able to finish at an elite level in traffic was amazing. His average game was beyond praise and his ability to shoot the ball from long range was fantastic.”

It was this ability to break defenders of all shapes and sizes that impressed Brown, who has coached numerous superstars including LeBron James and the late Kobe Bryant.

“If you look at the best one-on-one players, in my personal opinion, he should be on par with the best of them, if not the best,” Brown said.

The hope is that the Mavericks will see Irving’s gifts begin to match with Luka Doncic in a rematch with the Brown Kings on Saturday night. The Mavericks won Friday’s tilt 122–114, a game in which they never fell behind.

Doncic said Friday he plans to play Saturday, though nothing is set in stone when it comes to injuries.

Coach Jason Kidd said that whenever the Mavericks’ star guards take the floor, the situation shouldn’t be much different. He said there won’t be many new additions to the Mavericks’ arsenal.

“We don’t want to confuse everyone,” Kidd said. “And (with) Kai’s IQ and maturity, we will keep most of the sets, but we will add one or two that he played that the guys can pick up from. It won’t be hard. LD understands all offensive games. It won’t be hard for him. Today (Friday) was the first move in the shootout to get these two on the floor and hopefully they’ll be ready to go (Saturday).”

And as for the pace of the game, which was very fast in Irving’s first two games?

“Hopefully we’ll see it tomorrow,” Kidd said. – So we can guess, this is what we will do now. To get him to lie on the floor, I can give you the best answer. The way we move, we have to keep doing it not only with Kai, but also with Luca. It just makes the game much easier. And it’s fun to watch.

“Kai is an adult. He’s already played with superstars. This is not his first time. He plays the game right. He doesn’t have to have the ball every time. It’s about helping the team make the best shot. There will be times when Luka has the ball and Kai doesn’t. And there will be times when Kai has the ball and Luka doesn’t. I think it just makes it easier for not only those two, but also the other three on the court.”

But no one knows exactly what it will look like until Luka and Kairi are on the floor together.

“We have to get them on the floor to figure out where each guy likes the ball,” Kid said. “But these are two guys who play to win, to find an open guy. Let’s see. Double teams can be a little different, less double teams with these two on the floor. So hopefully it’s in our favor. But it will take a little time. We need to have a few minutes behind us before we can tell you how we’re going to play.”

Let the fun begin.

Here’s what else to look out for in the match against Kings Saturday:

Believe it or not, the Mavericks’ five-game trip will end on Saturday night. After starting off with an uninspiring loss to the Golden State, seemingly long gone, they bounced back pretty well with victories over Utah, the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento. Needless to say, a 4-1 trip would be a strong statement for the Mavericks and a lot of confidence on the road.
The Kings will no doubt make some adjustments in Game 2 of the baseball series. They scored 33 points off De’Aaron Fox on Friday, but the Mavericks did a good job of holding off the other Kings and swept the team for the fourth straight game.
On Friday, Christian Wood scored 13 points in 12 minutes. JaVale McGee scored 11 points and missed a double-double by one rebound. Dwight Powell had foul issues but still scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in 16 minutes. This is better than expected from their big guys as they were often the instigators of misdeeds from a high position.

DALLAS MAVERICS (31-26) and Sacramento Kings (31-24)