Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is one of the best ball handlers in the NBA, but he also is gifted at using the pivot foot to shake defenders.
In the first quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs matchup between the No. 1 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the No. 8 seeded Detroit Pistons, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving shows the world how to use the pivot foot to perfection.
Irving literally stops on a dime to shake the Pistons’ All-Star center Andre Drummond just outside the paint. What Irving initially wants to do is a fadeaway jumper of his left foot. However, Irving promptly loses his balance mid-shot.
With the basketball in his right arm as if he was carrying the football in an NFL game, Irving uses his left hand to rotate counter clockwise one push at a time. Pistons small forward Tobias Harris thinks that he can steal the basketball away form the off-balanced Irving and thus overcommits himself and leaves his defensive positioning along the baseline.
Irving recognizes that Harris left his man, which happens to be none other than the best forward in the game today LeBron James. James quickly scurries behind Harris and gains too much speed for either Drummond or Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to stop for an easy score in the paint.
In his young NBA career, what Irving does better than most point guards in the game today is with his strong ability to handle the basketball. While he may have looked a tad foolish with that off-balance brief fadeaway jumper attempt, Irving did showcase great situational awareness to find James open in a prime position to get an easy basket in the paint.
Though he regularly delivers highlight reel dimes at the point, this make-something-out-of-nothing assist will probably be his best of Game 1 versus the Pistons. What great instincts by Irving on that assist.
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