I discussed it earlier but guys still dribble right past him at will more often than not. The difference is that Byron Scott never implemented a team defense so that directly resulted in players scoring or passing directly to dunks. This year the team does a better job of rotating but the end result is usually either an open 3 or a second interior pass resulting in a good look at the rim. I agree that Kyrie has demonstrated more playmaking on that end of the floor. He's shown a nice ability to strip guys on the break and poke the ball away from guys in other situations. That allows my frustration.
Kyrie is demonstrating the ability to be a good defender if he ever wanted to on a consistent basis. Steve Nash, for example, never demonstrated any of this. He was bad and it never looked like he'd be capable of being good as a 1v1 defender. Kyrie has the quickness, in both hand and foot, to be a fantastic defender like Paul or Rondo. However, he has to have the will to do so and right now he's not even close to having it on a consistent basis.
I agree that he's gotten better, meaning he's actually awake on that end of the floor. However, the second he begins to understand how deadly they can become if he cuts off penetration without needing a switch to do it, this team is going to be much better in terms of stops and fast breaks. It starts with him on that end. Thibs always raved about how Rose bought into being "The head of the snake" on defense. Rose, like Kyrie, was never asked to play defense under Del Negro. I want to see Kyrie buy in. I haven't seen it yet.
