Kyrie Irving failed Mavericks when they needed him most, but Celtics had a lot to do with that

The Dallas Mavericks, and specifically Kyrie Irving, had a pretty magical 2023-24 season, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that just because they ran into a basketball buzzsaw named the Boston Celtics, who took out Dallas in five games to seal the 2024 NBA championship on Monday. 

When you end on a sour note, the analysis tends to be even more sour than it is for those who never made it far enough to be judged in the first place. Let’s keep that in mind while also acknowledging that this was, indeed, one hell of a sour ending for Irving, who capped what was a largely miserable showing in the Finals with a 15-point, 5-of-16 dud in the finale. 

After recognizing what a terrific season Irving and the Mavericks had, this Finals letdown notwithstanding, the next thing we’re going to do is credit the Celtics for the major part they played in Irving’s poor series. This was not a case of a superstar player shrinking from the moment, though you’ll surely hear plenty of that talk. Pay it no mind. Irving played poorly in this series for one reason and one reason only: because Boston made him play poorly. 

Prior to the series, Jrue Holiday said the only way to guard Kyrie was to “pray” — which speaks to both the reverence Irving’s magical skillset commands even among the highest ranking of peers, and the humility of one of the nastiest defenders the NBA has ever seen to suggest that he was, or is, somehow powerless to stop Irving sans divine intervention. 

That’s nice of him to say and all, but Holiday is every bit as great a defender as Irving is with the ball in his hands. In fact, if we’re going to limit our analysis to the admittedly narrow scope of this one series, Holiday is better at what he does than Irving is at what he does. You saw it on numerous occasions — Irving getting into his bag and coming up with nothing as Holiday smothered him out like the last embers of a campfire. 

There’s no shame in being rendered effectively helpless against the defense of Holiday, it’s just that we’ve rarely, if ever, seen this happen to…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kyrie-irving-failed-mavericks-when-they-needed-him-most-but-celtics-had-a-lot-to-do-with-that/

Author : Brad Botkin

Publish date : 2024-06-18 11:36:47

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