The Dallas Mavericks have fallen behind 2-0 to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, and Kyrie Irving's performance is a big reason why. He seems to understand that, and he made sure to have a conversation with Luka Doncic about it.
“It started with me just telling my hermano… it started with me reaching out, just letting him know it’s my fault, taking accountability for not playing particularly well,” Irving said, via Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
Over the first two games of the finals, Irving is averaging just 14 points per game while shooting 35.1 percent from the floor. He has misfired on all eight of his 3-point attempts, and he has attempted only two free throws.
“I can be a lot more fundamentally sound, technical on my shots, not get into the paint often where it’s three or four guys around me, I’m not making a pass,” Irving said. “They’re sending specific strategies against me to make it difficult.”
The Celtics have been throwing multiple defenders at Irving, although Jrue Holiday has generally been the primary defender on the eight-time All-Star.
Kyrie Irving needs to get going for the Mavericks to have a chance
Doncic cannot beat Boston by himself. He has logged 31 points, 10.5 rebounds and six assists per game thus far, shooting 51.1 percent from the floor. He also dropped a triple-double in Game 2. However, it has not been enough for the Mavericks to earn a win against the C's.
If Dallas wants to have any chance of rallying in this series, Irving will need to get going.
The Mavs simply do not have the depth of the Celtics when it comes to elite talent. While Boston has six players who can explode on any given night, the Mavericks really only have two: Doncic and Irving. Their offense is heavily reliant on their two star guards, and if they aren't both scoring efficiently, the results suffer.
Dallas' role players have been largely neutralized over the first two games. P.J. Washington is averaging 15.5 points per game, but he isn't exactly doing it efficiently on 45.5/12.5/80.0 shooting splits. Dereck Lively II and Josh Green have been mostly nonexistent.
Perhaps the Mavs' other guys will play better now that the series is shifting to Dallas, but there is no question that Irving will need to get his act together for the Mavericks to be legitimately competitive.
Irving has been in this situation before. He won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2016, and that year, the Cavaliers fell behind 2-0 to the Golden State Warriors before ultimately winning the series in seven games. Irving even made what ended up being the finals-winning 3-pointer in Game 7.
Of course, that was eight years ago, and these are entirely different teams. Still, the fact that Irving has done it in the past indicates that the moment is not too big for him and that he should be able to mentally rise to the occasion again.
It may just come down to Irving figuring out the nuances in the Celtics' stifling defense, which is obviously easier said than done.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is on Wednesday night.
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