The Boston Celtics will have to find a way to slow down Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks if they are to win Banner No. 18. Jrue Holiday is expected to draw the defensive assignment, and he had a candid response about it during their recent interviews with the media.
“Pray,” Holiday said via NBC Sports Boston. “I think it’s just familiarity, just, I think, knowing each other’s game, doing your best to stay in front of him – trying to take away the things that’ll probably hurt you the most.”
“And then, probably most of all, having help. Him being able to see multiple guys on the court, making it look like it’s crowded, making shots as tough as possible even though he’s a tough shot-maker,” he concluded.
Jrue Holiday is one of the best two-way players in the NBA, and he had some key defensive moments here in the playoffs, such as his game-clinching steal against Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
But despite this, the one-time NBA champion doesn’t want to poke the bear because he knows what Kyrie Irving is capable of, which he will see firsthand tomorrow in Game 1.
Boston Celtics will have their hands full on Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic
The Dallas Mavericks are back in the NBA Finals because Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are firing on all cylinders. In this year’s playoffs, Doncic is averaging 28.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, while Irving is averaging 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
However, Kyrie Irving is currently on a 10-game losing streak against the Boston Celtics since he stepped on their team logo “Lucky.”
The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in their two regular-season meetings this season, despite Luka Doncic averaging 35.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 12.0 assists per contest.
