Bertrand: Kyrie Irving being in a good headspace is bad news for Celtics

Marc Betrand gives his thoughts about Kyrie Irving’s headspace ahead of his return to Boston in the 2024 NBA Finals in hour No. 1 of Zolak and Bertrand:

Beetle: When we talk about the Celtics, do they have more chances beyond this year? We've had that discussion. Think about Kyrie Irving. Does Kyrie Irving have more chances beyond this year?

Scott Zolak: No, it doesn’t seem that way.

Beetle: How many more chances can he expect to be in this series with a chance to win a ring?

Zolak: I’d say not many.

Beetle: Who's got a better chance? The Celtics or the Mavericks of being back here next year? It's the Celtics.

Zolak: He's exhausted so many avenues. He's already ticked off so many franchises. You can't go back to them. You have to find new ones, and you've got to find good teams to play with. Like he's a piece. He's a piece there. Luka (Doncic) feels like he's the No. 1.

Beetle: Here's what I fear about Kyrie Irving at the moment: it sounds like his head is screwed on right.

Zolak: Oh, boy.

Beetle: There have been plenty of times where I think he's been rattled, and can be rattled and lost his mind. As he said, 'lost my bleep.' I don't know if he's in that phase right now. It's like phases of the Moon with Kyrie. Where is he? Where is he right now? Which phase is he in because no matter where he goes, as Tim (McKone) highlighted, it's going to blow up in due time. He's going to piss off teammates, he's going to stop talking to teammates, he's going to have some off-court drama that has his team demanding apologies that has him getting suspended. He dealt with all of that in Brooklyn. He couldn't stay on the court. Didn't want to follow covid rules, so he was away from the team for that stuff. I mean, it was again, one thing after another. Unreliable, inconsistent. You couldn't count on the guy for anything. Not at the moment. This phase of the ‘Kyrie Moon,’ he's in a good spot right now. That's kind of scary. I thought what he said yesterday at the podium, coupled with the way he's been playing lately. Uh-oh. This is the good Kyrie right now. This is the Kyrie that was here in year one in Boston. The one who was all smiles and was making plays and was one of the best — the best — point guard in the NBA when it's going right for him. That might be the guy who's coming to town and will be here Thursday night. That's a little scary. He's really good. We all know that about him.

Tom Morgan: So he’s in a waxing phase, not a waning phase.

Beetle: That’s what it is. Can you explain the differences? The waxing and waning.

Tom: I thought waxing was getting bigger. Waning was when the Moon shrinks.

Zolak: How's he even watching the Moon if the Earth's flat. The Moon doesn't have anything to go around.

Tom: Good point.

Zolak: What’s it on a racetrack around the Earth?

Beetle: It's like a nightlight. You just kind of plug it in. That's what it is. I think maybe Kyrie knows what this series means to his career and his legacy and his ability to rehab his basketball image as a guy who can win, that can get your team there and can be a leader and not be a complete lunatic as he has been in years past. So he might just be in a good mental phase where those things are all clicking and going in the right direction for him, and he knows how important it would be to get another title to prove his doubters wrong and because this is why you play this sport. This is why you do it. I also think that this series in a lot of ways is going to reflect on the Celtics. As you've said Zo, you can't lose to this guy. But how bad does it make the organization look if you lose to this guy. This is the guy that walked out on you four years ago and was a complete mess while the Celtics have methodically tweaked, built, grown all of it, and have the better roster. If they lose this series, how badly does that reflect on them and what they've done?

Zolak: Tremendous.

Beetle: It makes them look like failures.

Zo: Oh, it makes the year a failure.

Beetle: Not the year. Years, plural.

If and when the Celtics face the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, don't take it personally if Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are being called closers.

There's good reason.

Even before they were p[aired together in Dallas, Doncic and Irving were regarded as two of the NBA's most elite scorers, which isn't a surprise. But if you needed any evidence that the pair could both co-exist and produce in the clutch as teammates on the Mavericks, the pair put on a clinic during Dallas' 116-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday to take a 3-0 series lead in the NBA Western Conference finals.

With Game 4 scheduled for tonight in Dallas, the Mavericks can wrap up the series and confirm a date with the Celtics in the NBA Finals, set to begin in Boston on June 6.

In Game 3, the game was tied at 87 entering the fourth quarter, when the tandem of Irving and Doncic were too much for Timberwolves standout Anthony Edwards to overcome. In a combined 20:37 - Irving played all 12 minutes while Doncic played 8:37 - the Mavericks put on an offensive clinic against the vaunted Minnesota defense, shooting a collective 11-of-15 (including 3-of-3 from 3-point distance) to pull away and move the Wolves within a game of elimination.

Of course, the Mavericks offense was centered around Irving and Doncic, who combined for 21 of the Mavs' 29 points and and shot a combined 8-of-10 from the floor (including 2-of-2 from distance) while also going 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Doncic also had a beautiful, back-breaking assist that effectively broke Minnesota's spirit.

One thing to note? Doncic and Irving effectively did all of this playing isolation ball, which raises obvious concerns for a Celtics team that has struggled to effectively execute the same in close games. The teammates rank fourth and seventh in the entire during this postseason in average minutes played during the fourth quarter. (The Celtics rank lower in this are because they have played far fewer competitive games.)

A look at the fourth quarters of both Doncic and Irving in Game 3: