Kyrie Irving has never been known as a good defender. Prior to last season, per Basketball-Reference, his best individual defensive rating was 106, which he matched last season. This year Irving is posting an individual defensive rating of 100, which tops his career defensive rating of 109 by a large margin. It’s still very early, but there’s a reason for his success so far this season.
Around the beginning of the season, Irving talked about the need for him to give a better effort on the defensive end. He recognizes the long-held belief that he dies on screens, doesn’t close out to shooters and gives up on mismatches against bigger players.