Kyrie Irving has transformed a glaring Mavericks weakness into a major strength

Just a season ago, the Dallas Mavericks ranked in the bottom 10 in pretty much every isolation metric. Dallas ranked 26th in points per isolation possession, 25th in isolation effective field goal percentage, and 21st in isolation scoring frequency.

Kyrie Irving has helped turn Mavericks' isolation weakness into a strength

This year, however, things have gone topsy-turvy, as Dallas has been the association's most efficient isolation team, largely thanks to the return of Kyrie Irving.

The Mavericks rank first in points per isolation possession, field goal percentage, effective field goal percentage, and isolation scoring frequency. It's certainly been quite the turnaround.

Okay, so it hasn't all been on Irving's shoulders. He ranks second on the team in points per isolation possession, effective field goal percentage, field goal percentage, and scoring frequency. In first place is, you guessed it, Cooper Flagg. Nonetheless, Irving still leads Dallas in isolation possessions and isolation points per game.

While it's difficult to draw an absolute correlation between Dallas' major uptick in isolation efficiency from one year to the next, Irving's return stands out above all else. And it's not just that Irving is a prolific scorer; it's that he presents the Mavericks with another go-to option when the offense breaks down, something they didn't really have last year.

Cooper Flagg has taken a major leap as an isolation scorer

Flagg was the de facto isolation scorer a year ago, but as an 18-year-old rookie who had just turned 19, he was far from polished. Among the 48 qualified players who averaged at least two isolation possessions per game last season, Flagg ranked 43rd in points per isolation possession, 41st in field goal percentage, 42nd in effective field goal percentage, and 39th in scoring frequency.

As you can see, Dallas relied heavily on Flagg to generate offense. As a rookie still developing as a shot creator, he struggled, as his stats show. But it wasn't just that Flagg was an inexperienced scorer. It was that Dallas routinely put the ball in his hands and asked him to go get a basket whenever it needed one. Yeah, it's a nice teaching tool, but it certainly won't yield desirable results.

Now, with Irving back in the fold, Dallas has another reliable self-creator and isolation scorer, which helps both in the broader sense and in Flagg's case. Of course, the Mavericks' stellar team isolation statistics stand out as evidence of just how much Irving has impacted Dallas in that department

As for Flagg, using that same two-isolations-per-game standard, he ranks sixth among 38 qualified players in points per isolation possession, fourth in field goal percentage, sixth in effective field goal percentage, and third in scoring frequency. Whoa. Like Dallas' leap, Flagg's improvement has been quite astounding.

Sure, Flagg deserves his flowers. He's obviously grown as an isolation scorer as he's fine-tuned his game. But Irving's impact is second to none. The 34-year-old point guard is just about as good an isolation scorer as this league has seen this millennium, and his return to the fold has certainly shown that.

Irving gives Dallas the isolation firepower it desperately needed

Without Irving in tow, Dallas certainly wouldn't have the isolation firepower to contend with the league's most effective isolation teams. After all, the Mavericks' second-most-used isolation player from a year ago, Brandon Williams, is no longer with the organization. And he actually fared fairly well in isolation (much better than Flagg, in fact)

All in all, Irving's return to the court has done wonders for Dallas, especially on the offensive end whenever the Mavericks need a bucket. Irving has been one of the league's better isolation scorers for quite some time, and he's once again elevating a team that desperately needed another reliable shot creator.

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