Kyrie Irving vs Damian Lillard: Who's better? A statistical comparison

#2 Scoring inside the paint

Lillard guards Kyrie at a Team USA showcase event

While Lillard is a player who relies on uncomplicated maneuvers, changes of speed, acceleration and bounce to carve through opposition defenses, Kyrie is a more stylish player who relies more on his instincts and can finish through traffic with the best of them.

Lillard has a career field goal percentage of 56.5% from 0-3 feet, but this drops to a below-average 33.5% from 3-10 feet. This happens because the Weber State graduate does not have a reliable floater, and relies too much on right-hand drives to the hoop, which makes him a lot more predictable.

On the other hand, Kyrie has perfected the art of inside scoring. He has, by a pretty handy margin, the best handles in the world today, and no defender is immune to ending up on his highlight reels once he dips into his bag of tricks. So good is he, aesthetically speaking, that his 1-game highlight reel is often comparable to many players' full-season reels - no exaggeration here.

His fundamental soundness, ability to use the English off the glass, ability to score with both hands effectively from 0-10 feet and unpredictability make him a better inside scorer than any point guard in the league, including Steph and Lillard.

Edge: Kyrie