“Those Long Rebounds Killed Us!”: Kyrie Irving Highlights 17-Rebound Differential Against Nuggets in In-Season Tournament Opener

The In-season tournament kicked off in style yesterday and saw the end of the unbeaten streak of the Dallas Mavericks. During the first game of the In-Season tournament, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks faced Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on the road. The contest ended with a score line of 125-114, displacing the Texan side from the top of the Western Conference.

After the game, Kyrie Irving was asked about the team’s rebounding issues, especially after displaying impressive rebounding during the first few games of the season. In response, Irving said, “We went small a few times and they took advantage. Long rebounds of those threes that they take. They take a lot of random threes in transition, a lot of threes from the half-court. Those long rebounds kinda killed us tonight.”

The 2016 NBA Champion seemed to take the loss in good spirits. Reflecting a similar approach to Luka Doncic’s press conference, Irving pointed out that the game had a lot of positives for Dallas to build on.

Before moving on to the next question, Kyrie briefly touched upon what it would take to plug the holes in their game. Talking about the same, Irving said, “The focus level for us moving forward, we just gotta be better and hold each other accountable more when it comes down to those little things, those little details, which will ultimately get us more wins.”

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving addressed major issues with the Mavs

The Mavericks did make some adjustments which might have cost them the game. With the return of Kyrie Irving in the starting lineup, the Mavs instantly fell into a small ball strategy. Not only did the Nuggets punish them on the boards, with a 17-rebound differential between the two teams, but they also managed to score more in the paint. Kyrie also pointed out how the loss could be due to the team still adjusting to their roles, after his return.

Just like Kyrie, Luka also believed that the performance of the team lacked in certain areas. Even though he posted an impressive 34 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, the Slovenian didn’t go easy on himself. Luka not only pointed out his nine turnovers but also highlighted issues with the team’s small-ball lineup. Talking about the same during the post-game press conference, Doncic said, “I really think sometimes we’ve got to go with a little bit bigger lineup, especially with [Nikola] Jokic and [Aaron] Gordon in there and [Michael] Porter Jr. — tall guys. They really have a lot of people that can get offensive rebounds  “.

Luka Doncic highlighted how the Mavericks should have used bigger lineups more often against the Nuggets:

“I really think sometimes we’ve got to go with a little bit bigger lineup, especially with [Nikola] Jokic and [Aaron] Gordon in there and [Michael] Porter Jr. — tall guys.… pic.twitter.com/ow3NwgOsZu

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 4, 2023

Going forward, the Mavericks might have to make a few moves during the trade deadline to get a few more big bodies to compensate for their lack of size. But that being said, the Mavs are on a roll ( posting a 4-1 record) and might just be a sleeper team to win the West this year.