Five intriguing storylines for Celtics-Mavs NBA Finals

Five intriguing storylines for Celtics-Mavs NBA Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

We’re just days away from what’s sure to be an electrifying NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.

The Celtics are looking to win their first NBA title since 2008. The Mavs hope to earn their second championship in franchise history. Their first came in 2011 against the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.

If Boston brings home Banner 18, it will pull ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championships in NBA history. If it doesn’t, it will mark the sixth time in eight years that it reached as far as the Eastern Conference Finals and failed to finish the job.

Here are five other intriguing storylines for the 2024 NBA Finals, which tip off Thursday night at TD Garden.

This Celtics team falling short of Banner 18 would be devastating against any opponent. But against Kyrie Irving? Arguably Boston’s greatest sports villain? Now that would sting.

Irving infamously left the Celtics in 2019 after telling fans during an event at TD Garden that he planned on re-signing. And although he played at an All-Star level during his two seasons with Boston, he repeatedly miffed C’s fans with controversial remarks that put his leadership ability in question.

Since his departure, Irving has been greeted with boos any time he touches the ball against the former team at the Garden. Boston’s disdain for Irving reached another level after Game 4 of the 2021 Celtics-Nets first-round playoff series when he stomped on the Celtics’ logo at midcourt. Moments later, a fan threw a water bottle at Irving’s head as the then-Nets star exited the court.

We hope incidents like that will be avoided this time around, but the loud boos and crude language are inevitable. Irving remains public enemy No. 1, and his being in Boston’s way of hanging Banner 18 is the obvious top storyline for this series.

Mavericks fans have their own villain for this series: C’s big man Kristaps Porzingis.

Dallas traded for Porzingis at the 2019 deadline while he was recovering from ACL surgery. While the 7-foot-3 Latvian mostly played well during his two-plus…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/five-intriguing-storylines-celtics-mavs-201356968.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-06-03 20:13:56

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