Kyrie Irving is averaging his lowest scoring margins since 2015 when he put up 20 PPG on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving has only played a few games, so it’s understandable that he’s rusty – but for a player as gifted as he is, Irving will need to take over games offensively during the Nets’ current stretch of road games while allowing James Harden to act as a facilitatator.
It seemed like the guard was making it a priority in the matchup on Monday with Cleveland when it’s not as needed from him. When Kevin Durant plays, he puts up a team-high 20 shots while facilitating here and there. As for Irving, he should do the same. Right now, he’s putting up 18 shots a contest, but he’s still a bit rusty.
Next game, he has to focus on being more efficient and attacking the paint more. He has only attempted one free throw a game. Of course, Irving is trying to be more cautious after his ankle injury in last season’s playoffs and reaggravating it against the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s going to take some time to break out of this, but it’s inevitably going to happen.
Although he’s shooting it at a decent 48% from the field, the New Jersey native hasn’t gathered his typical offensive rhythm yet. It’s only a matter of time for him to score 30+ at some point on the Nets’ current road trip.
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