Jim Murray: Kyrie Irving is not a changed man
The Boston Celtics took down the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in game 1 of the NBA Finals. One of the weakest links for the Mavericks in the game was Kyrie Irving, who seemed to be affected by the fans in the TD Garden. On Friday’s Felger and Mazz, Jim Murray discussed Irving’s problems with Celtics fans in the loss for the Mavericks.
Is Kyrie a changed man like he’s been saying he is?
Jim Murray: I told you that the whole I’m a changed man, a Phoenix rising from the ashes”, that whole act by Kyrie Irving was just that….an act. A complete and utter crock. And credit to you people who were in the building, like J-Stew, for helping expose it last night because you unquestionably got to him. And shoutout to the great Mike Gorman who confirmed on Toucher and Hardy this morning something that my wife noticed last night that I was completely oblivious to, and that’s that Kyrie was getting into it with a fan and was obviously distracted. I missed it. She was saying to me she’s like, are you seeing this? She must have been watching him closer than I was. Mike Gorman I guess was sitting like 9 rows back, he saw it. I didn’t see it. But what I didn’t miss is he was shook the whole night. Kyrie Irving was terrible. Awful turnovers. He dribbled the ball off his foot at one point. The guy with arguably the best handle in the NBA, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do that once. He looked a complete mess. He was like falling ass over teakettle at one point. He got his shot blocked a few times. He had open looks at three that couldn’t have been more open, there’s no one within like 20 feet of him and he’s clanging him off the rim. He’s 0-5 from 3. 12 points 6-19 from the floor. It’s only one game, but with that performance he can’t be this inefficient for Dallas if they’re going to be even in this series. I like the Celtics anyway, I picked the Celtics, but if Kyrie is going to play like that, not only are the Celtics going to win, they’re going to sweep this thing. It’ll be over in four games.
Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!
Celtics 107-89 win over the Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals led by Porzingis, Brown
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 06: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics reacts as he dunks the ball against Maxi Kleber #42 of the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter in Game One of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 06, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Fourth Quarter:
Jaylen would continue to stay hot early in the fourth hitting the first basket of the quarter trying to leave no doubt in the Celtics lead. The teams would trade blows early in the fourth but with Boston leading by 20 to start the quarter Dallas would need to do a lot more than just trade baskets with Boston. Derrick White would hit a layup with 8:34 to go in the game to extend Boston’s lead back up to 21. Dallas’ defense wasn’t getting enough stops to cut into Boston’s lead, the teams would continue to trade baskets throughout the quarter with an Al Horford layup after a Tatum offensive rebound would put Boston up 96-75 with 6:09 to go.
Jrue Holiday one of the big offseason acquisitions by Celtics GM Brad Stevens was making his impact felt on both ends all night, as he’d hit a 3 pointer to make it 99-75 with 5:28 to go in the game and Boston getting closer to that ever important 1-0 series lead. Boston wouldn’t let up as the quarter went on leading by 20 for most of the 4th, Jason Kidd would basically wave the white flag with 5 minutes to go taking Irving and Doncic out of the game as the Mavericks couldn’t get any closer. Boston would continue to do everything right in the fourth going up 105-84 with 1:49 to go coasting to a 1-0 series lead with game 2 set for Sunday night at the Garden. The Celtics would go on to win by 107-89 dominating for large stretches of the game and making it look easy at times, if Dallas is going to rebound in game 2 their defense is going to need to make massive adjustments.
Scaz’s takeaways
- Celtics dominate with a very average Tatum offensive game
- Porzingis looked healthy and ready to go a great sign for the Celtics
- Jaylen Brown was great on both ends of the floor
- Dallas’ defense needs to make massive adjustments for game 2
