(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Heading into the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks were considered heavy underdogs, with the Boston Celtics, who have only lost two games in the postseason thus far, being the favorite and expected to win an NBA-record 18th title.
Although the Mavericks are the underdogs, Dallas was expected to at least put up a fight in Game 1 on Thursday night, with the team defying the odds throughout the entire NBA playoffs thus far and arguably being the more battle-tested team in this seven-game series.
Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out to be the case, as the Celtics cruised to victory with relative ease on their home floor on Thursday night at TD Garden, with the team beating the Mavericks, 107-89.
Even though the Mavericks got 30 points and 10 rebounds out of superstar Luka Doncic, the team got nearly nothing from fellow superstar Kyrie Irving, who went 6-for-19 from the floor, 0-for-5 from beyond the arc, and finished with only 12 points in 37 minutes on the floor.
Obviously, Dallas will not win this series against the Celtics if they can’t get any production out of Irving because Doncic can’t do it all by himself against a Boston squad that is stacked from top to bottom and excels on both ends of the basketball floor.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports makes this point clear as he says the team will need to get more from the one-time NBA champion in order to make an impact in this series and give his former team a run for its money (via Yahoo Sports).
The Mavericks need more from Kyrie Irving in the #NBAFinals @JakeLFischer @YourManDevine pic.twitter.com/qXZObCXsNz
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 7, 2024
Fortunately for Irving, it was only the first game of the series and things can change drastically from here on out if the veteran guard can get back on track and help Doncic carry the load moving forward.
Game 2 of the Finals will take place in Boston once again on Sunday followed by Game 3 where the series will shift to Dallas on Wednesday at American Airlines Center.
The post NBA Insider Calls Out Mavericks Star Following Ugly Game 1 appeared first on The Cold Wire.