“Kyrie Irving — The Grim Reaper”: Fans Can’t Keep Calm as Luka Doncic and Co. Lose to Lowly Hornets’ 2nd Unit

Akash Murty | 25/03/2023
“Kyrie Irving — The Grim Reaper”: Fans Can’t Keep Calm as Luka Doncic an Co. Lose to Lowly Hornets’ 2nd Unit

A month ago, the anticipation in Dallas camp was to find a way to integrate Kyrie Irving into the system in such a way that he and the Luka Doncic-led Mavericks could compete for a championship right away.

They were the 4th best team in the West then. Now, they are competing for the Play-in spot and are at the 11th spot, below a Zion Williamson-less Pelicans and the OKC Thunder.

From the hopes of boasting the best backcourt in the NBA to have two guards having tremendous individual seasons but failing to deliver it together, Mark Cuban must be heartbroken.

Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic have won just 3 out of 10 games together

After their shambolic loss against the Charlotte Hornets, who lacked almost every starter that began their 2022-23 season in October, the Mavericks must be distraught.

The 117-109 loss came while Doncic still had his usual close-to-triple-double night. His 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists came with 2/9 shooting from the three-point line, while Irving’s 18 were the result of a single 3-pointer he converted off his 8 shots.

This bizarre loss has made the duo’s record 3-7 in their 10 games together.

Much like Luka, fans are already NOT having fun.

The man might be pointing at officiating with what he said about not enjoying basketball. But we and the fans are always quick to comprehend something else, aren’t we?

Can the Mavs make a quick turnaround?

With just 8 more games remaining under their belt, let’s see how they try to make a comeback. A winning run even of 4-5 games can give a team with talents like Kyrie and Luka enough momentum to win the first round.

However, after they face the Hornets again on Saturday, they have 6 straight games with the teams that are also trying to compete for a play-in spot in their respective conferences.

Finally, they will then face the Spurs as the last opponent of their 2022-23 regular season campaign. Let’s hope that doesn’t turn out to be the last of what we would get to see from this sensational duo.

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
kyrie irving Luka Doncic

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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