DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving is known for his creativity with the ball, whether breaking down a defender with his handle or finishing an acrobatic layup at the rim.
However, one part of his skill set that tends to get overlooked is one of the more unglamorous parts of the game: screening for teammates. Before accounting for Irving in a 139-103 blowout loss against the Mavs, DallasBasketball.com asked Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups about the value of Irving’s commitment to screening in his team’s offense. Irving recorded 24 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in 29 minutes.
Billups highlighted Irving as one of the NBA’s best screeners, pointing out the physicality he screens with, making it harder to keep mismatches away from him. The sequences Irving is involved in can be viewed almost like an assist because it helps open up the offense and is an unselfish play.
“He can do it all, but you mentioned one thing that nobody really talks about, he’s one of the best screeners in the league,” Billups said of Irving. “I’ve always thought that for scorers and particularly for point guards, being a good screener, you open yourself up and your teammates up for opportunities; it’s almost like an assist sometimes. It’s a selfless play, most of the time.”
Whether he’s setting an off-ball screen in a Zoom action before a teammate like Luka Doncic receives a handoff or just generally screening away for a teammate, the defense has to account for both handling the action and be cognizant of potential mismatches when making switching determinations.
“Kai is one of the best screeners in the league,” Billups said. “He screens with some physicality as well and attacks mismatches that way.
” Given how there are instances when switching a screen is unavoidable, Portland felt they needed to be cognizant of its overall team defense after Irving screened since he makes light work of mismatches in space.
“So, for us, just understanding and knowing it, and knowing when he says screens, he sometimes is trying to get a switch situation,” Billups said. “And when he gets that, we’ll pay attention to it when he gets the ball.”
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