Kyrie Irving

[Jack Brickman]

6 assist per game for an elite starting PG isn't all that impressive. Wade's career assist is 6 and he has averaged 7.5 assists in two seasons before. MJ once averaged 8 assist in a season. Those guys aren't even PG's.

Kyrie is a good playmaker, but he's not an elite one and he doesn't deliver the ball on time. He just lack the intangible to know where his teammates are on the court the way CP3, Rondo do and even a prime Deron Williams used to. He just lacks timing and general court awareness.

Look at the "point guards" Wade has played with and tell me with a straight face he wasn't effectively playing the point for the Heat.

 

[Tornicade]

This team is elite in basketball iq. im not sure its a term that should be used just because a player doesnt do what you want them to on the court.

some passes are just plain fools gold. Memphis is very good at cutting off passing lanes and turning open look passes into turnovers. people should be mindful of the competition when evaluating players decisions.

is kyrie missing on potential home runs or easy buckets but if you have three guys in scoring position only one guy can take the shot. I saw plenty of passes to an open love on the post that did not turn into points.

What Kyrie needs to abstain from is over dribbling to force his way to the bucket. love also needs to recognize is that he is on a team full of playmakers so just standing in a spot so he can work his magic isnt gonna be good enough at times. Love also has to learn theres some shots he dont need to take anymore.

it will take some time for these guys to get comfortable with each other but i wouldnt call it low basketball iQ.

 

[Bandwagoner305]

He'll need time to grow out of the "I score first" mindset. The sooner he does so, the quicker he'll develop good chemistry with his teammates.

 

[Bandwagoner305]

Look at the "point guards" Wade has played with and tell me with a straight face he wasn't effectively playing the point for the Heat.

He was, but that also shows he's a good playmaker, an above average one at his position.

 

[JSS2306]

This team is elite in basketball iq. im not sure its a term that should be used just because a player doesnt do what you want them to on the court.

some passes are just plain fools gold. Memphis is very good at cutting off passing lanes and turning open look passes into turnovers. people should be mindful of the competition when evaluating players decisions.

is kyrie missing on potential home runs or easy buckets but if you have three guys in scoring position only one guy can take the shot. I saw plenty of passes to an open love on the post that did not turn into points.

What Kyrie needs to abstain from is over dribbling to force his way to the bucket. love also needs to recognize is that he is on a team full of playmakers so just standing in a spot so he can work his magic isnt gonna be good enough at times. Love also has to learn theres some shots he dont need to take anymore.

it will take some time for these guys to get comfortable with each other but i wouldnt call it low basketball iQ.

Oh there's definitely some IQ problems on Kyrie's part and has been for quite sometime. In fact, I believe it was either Max or Wine and Gold that explained in a post that you have to repeat everything to Kyrie over and over again whereas you never had to do that with LeBron. That was last year.

You can see it in his play on the court. How many times do we have to watch a play develop only for Kyrie to dribble himself into trouble or take things into his own hands. If his IQ was high, he'd be running something that resembles an offense. LeBron is going to expect this from him and has said as much. What he did against Memphis was not leading the offense even though he had a good game statistically.

Again, youth plays a major factor here but he also just doesn't see the floor like a prototypical point guard. There's no doubt about it.

 

[Bandwagoner305]

In boxing, there's something called "ring generalship", it means that a boxer has the ability to dictate the pace, style, and tactics of a fight. It's no different in basketball. PG's like CP3 and Rondo have high IQ, they know how to slow the game down and pick their spots without forcing anything. They're like another coach on the court. Kyrie has the physical gift to break down oppossing teams defense with his elite ball handles, but he doesn't analyze the mental aspect of the game the way other PG's like, CP3, Rondo, etc, do.

LeBron has that same intangible like those PG's. He knows how to control the game and set up high percentage in rhythm shots for his teammates and pick his spots when he wants to look for his own points. He's the total package. He understand that the mental aspect of the game is as equally important as the physical aspect. The sooner Kyrie realizes that he can score in certain different ways that don't require him to over dribbles the ball, the quicker the team will be ready to develop its championship identity.

 

[Tornicade]

I think some people are looking at kyrie and what he did in the 2013-14 season and basing their opini

Oh there's definitely some IQ problems on Kyrie's part and has been for quite sometime. In fact, I believe it was either Max or Wine and Gold that explained in a post that you have to repeat everything to Kyrie over and over again whereas you never had to do that with LeBron. That was last year.

You can see it in his play on the court. How many times do we have to watch a play develop only for Kyrie to dribble himself into trouble or take things into his own hands. If his IQ was high, he'd be running something that resembles an offense. LeBron is going to expect this from him and has said as much. What he did against Memphis was not leading the offense even though he had a good game statistically.

Again, youth plays a major factor here but he also just doesn't see the floor like a prototypical point guard. There's no doubt about it.

He doesnt see the floor or he believes he has the best chance to win. and what things were they telling him that they had to repeat. Irving see the floor very well. I dont think he lack of assist is an indication of basketball iq more of a matter of preference or choice.

Im not giving Irving a free ride on this by labeling him as a low basketball iq player. he plays the way he chooses to play. I dont think its a matter of irving not being aware of the best basketball play. its that he chooses to ignore it.

he seems to have no problem recognizing the basketball play when its involves him and his buckets.

Kryie has demonstrated the ability to see these plays and act on them enough times to show its a matter of choice not limitation for the way he plays his game. He is a 2nd generation basketball player who was mentored by rod strickland.

 

[bobcat22]

Guys, you can't expect a player to erase bad habits in training camp. That's not enough time. I know we all want to analyze the team as is right now, but Kyrie needs time to figure things out himself. This kind of offense is completely different for him. It will take an adjustment.

The best thing for Kyrie is playing with LeBron. LeBron now can effectively play off the ball, yet still command control of the offense. Kyrie now has somebody on offense he has to defer to. Kyrie is not going to have many possessions without a pass because LeBron will be all over him. By forcing Kyrie to get the ball to LeBron, that alone will break his habit of pounding the air out of the ball. Why? Because with LeBron out there, Kyrie won't feel as though he's the best player on the floor.

 

[Tornicade]

BTW for 4 games. Irving shots 55.4% and 41.2% from 3 point land@ 20 points per game. its apprent his shot selection is pretty top notch and he isnt forcing things like last year. this a good start.whether it carries over to the regular season remains to be seen.

 

[DatDudeZ3]

Kyrie is definitely sharing the ball more this year, every once in a while he will call an iso for himself which I am absolutely fine with. Why wouldn't you let him iso every once in a while? He almost always has an advantage over the defender, I like Kyrie's chances, especially when he shot over 50% from the field this preseason and in the FIBA tournament. BUT even though he is sharing the ball more this year, I DON'T expect his assist #'s to skyrocket due to our offensive system and how everybody touches the rock.

 

[JSS2306]

I dont think he lack of assist is an indication of basketball iq more of a matter of preference or choice.

Exactly why I think he is still immature and low IQ (and should be at 22).

LeBron is going to be up his ass about it in the not too distance future so I'm not that worried about it.

 

[Tornicade]

Exactly why I think he is still immature and low IQ (and should be at 22).

LeBron is going to be up his ass about it in the not too distance future so I'm not that worried about it.

You dont play the game Irving does without a high basketball IQ. your taking one perceived shortcoming in his game and grading his bball iq on that.. that isnt how it goes. Irving has an excellent understanding of the game and more importantly how to utilize his skills within that game. saying he doesnt see the floor well or understand what he is seeing is just absurd.

Can his basketball iq in the team setting improve? absolutely.. does that mean he has a low basketball iq .... absolutely not.

 

[Bandwagoner305]

Exactly why I think he is still immature and low IQ (and should be at 22).

LeBron is going to be up his ass about it in the not too distance future so I'm not that worried about it.

I wouldn't say he has a low basketball IQ, he just knows his limit and prefer to stick to what he's good at. He's comfortable with the way he's played in the last three years and prefer to put more effort in getting buckets than anything else. He doesn't have a high basketball IQ either if you're comparing him to the likes of, LeBron, CP3, etc, but this is the year he's going to have to become a well-rounded player.

He'll have to make consistent progress and become above average at playmaking and defending. He can't get away with wanting to do things his way anymore because he had his chance and he still couldn't even led his team to an 8th spot in the Eastern Conference.

 

[JSS2306]

Can his basketball iq in the team setting improve? absolutely

Yes, absolutely and it needs to or this team won't be successful. That's really my only complaint right now with his play.

I can forgive his pretty awful defense if he initiated the offensive sets and involved his teammates but right now a much less talented Mathew Dellavedova is running circles around him in that department.

Kevin Love agrees with me.

 

[Bandwagoner305]

You dont play the game Irving does without a high basketball IQ. your taking one perceived shortcoming in his game and grading his bball iq on that.. that isnt how it goes. Irving has an excellent understanding of the game and more importantly how to utilize his skills within that game. saying he doesnt see the floor well or understand what he is seeing is just absurd.

Can his basketball iq in the team setting improve? absolutely.. does that mean he has a low basketball iq .... absolutely not.

Understanding one side of the game doesn't make you a high IQ player either. Kyrie knows how to break down defense and make solo plays for himself, but he's not the type of player who puts the same type of effort when it comes to setting up good shots for his teammates and he's an average defender(I'm just being generous).

He's just not a true "floor general" who knows when to make the right play at the right time. Timing is everything. It's why a lot of players love playing with LeBron because he makes the game easier for them because he knows where each teammates want the ball and when they want it. Kyrie doesn't posses that type of skill and to be fair, only a very few PG's do.