NBA Analyst Shannon Sharpe feels Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic should shed their cloak of unselfishness and play with more freedom

Kyrie Irving’s move to Dallas Mavericks saw the trade deadline spice up everything with several teams making some big moves ahead of the business end of the season. However Irving’s arrival has made the Mavericks a solid team as they now finally have someone who can provide the much needed support and leadership that Luka Doncic demanded for the last few years.

However recently the Dallas Mavericks lost against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a fiery encounter, where the Mavs lost 124-121. The Mavericks had the last possession and were down by three points. So they clearly had the opportunity of equalizing the score as Kyrie had the possession which is handed otu to Doncic but even the Slovenian did not take the attempt and returned the favour to Kyrie who ultimately turned it over and the game ended right there.

Kyrie and Luka have just started knowing each other and it was clear by the way they were playing on the night. Both the players on some other night would have taken the shot as both had good enough looks. However they wanted to be a team player and decided to pass it on which created confusion and the clarity got lost. However as they play more together and spend more time, they will get to know about each other’s instincts, movements, ability while being in possession, passing tendencies and much more.

But discussing the result in Undisputed podcast, Shannon Sharpe shared that he expects both Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic to shed the cloak of unselfish basketball and play with more freedom and authority, things that they are known best for.

“Last night was a case of them showing, ‘we’re really not selfish, that we can fit together.’ If Kyrie takes that shot and misses it… If Luka takes that shot, I’ll live with it… They were playing hot potato,” Sharpe said on the podcast regarding the last play.

Both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are exceptional player sin the clutch and both had good looks against the Timberwolves, but they are only playing their second game together so the synergy is not yet there.But hopefully both the players will work it out and get into the right headspace where both can coexist and also play freely without any burden.

Luka Doncic used to carry the Mavericks to the deeper stages of the playoffs earlier with a bunch of support players. However now with someone of Kyrie Irving’s calibre, Luka will look to challenge for the title this season. But for that they need to be at their best in terms of understanding. They do have the talent now and it only depends on the desire and hunger to finally reach the goal.