Kyrie Irving is an All-Star who gets booed mercilessly by Boston fans.
When it comes to stupidly taunting the Celtics on their home court and continuing empty talk while shooting 35.1% on the same court, Irving is the best player in the NBA to accomplish this strange feat.
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But returning to Boston for Game 5 or winning a 2024 Finals in the city that loves to hate it?
Helping battered Luka Doncic carry the weight of the Mavericks, who are even heavier now that Dallas is stuck in a massive 3-0 hole?
The know-it-all Irving was worthless on the NBA’s biggest stage in Games 1 and 2.
He scored a game-high 35 points in Game 3, but the Celtics won 106-99 on the road to take a 3-0 series lead against the Mavs.
It appears, once again, that there is no way the former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick will win a world championship without LeBron James as his No. 1 pick.
That was the case in 2016, when the King’s Cleveland Cavaliers dethroned the Golden State Warriors and turned “I blew a 3-1 lead” into a never-ending meme.
James was at the top of the basketball world then.
Irving was the perfect No. 2, showing off handles straight out of a video game, while hitting huge, history-changing shots.
Eight years later, James can’t even put his best friend, JJ Redick, at the top of the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching search, while Irving was a combined 13 of 37 from the field during consecutive humiliations in the final. Boston.
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This is the time when Irving should get Doncic back.
That’s why Dallas traded in 2023 for the often-shifting, ever-unpredictable Irving, even though the rest of the league had already soured on a guy who once wondered if planet Earth was really the same shape as a balloon basketball games and coldly burned bridges in Brooklyn. .
When Irving was motivated, healthy and cleared to play, he was a perfect 2 to be paired with a true 1.
As the 2024 Mavs dominated the West’s best (Clippers, Thunder, Timberwolves) and cruised their way to the Finals, it ultimately seemed like Irving had rediscovered what made him so special in the first place.
No conspiracy theories, politics or deep tweets.
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A truly supreme level of basketball that elevated Uncle Drew/Chef Hélà to the ranks of the best hardwood artists on the planet.
Irving once again proved dangerous on the field that made him famous.
He sincerely wanted to win everything again.
And he was going to help Doncic win a shiny, golden trophy, just like he partnered with James nearly a decade ago.
But after two bad games in Boston, Irving looked mediocre again.
He was a dismal 6 of 19 from the field in the opener and 0 of 5 from 3-point range, turning the ball over more times (three) than he dished out assists (two).
“I didn’t play well or up to my standards as well as I would have liked,” Irving said.
“Coming back to Boston, I have such a desire to play well within me. I wanted to be there for my teammates. As a competitor, it’s frustrating. But I don’t want to let that seep in or spread. any other decision I have to make as a player.
Irving also messed around again and found out.
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“I thought it was going to be a little louder here,” Irving said after the first game in Boston, immediately pushing himself and his team into a bigger hole heading into the second game.
Then he shot 7 of 18 from the floor, again failed to hit a single 3, got to the free throw line just twice and finished with 16 points on a night when Dallas needed much more of Doncic’s volatile act. 2.
“I’m a little disappointed that I can’t convert a lot more of my opportunities in the lane,” Irving said. “My teammates expect me to convert a lot of shots and ease the burden not only on Luka but on the entire team.”
When the lights were shining and the basketball world was stunned in 2016, The King was the ultimate maverick, getting the best out of Irving as they somehow combined to transform the Warriors 3-1 in Cavaliers 4-3.
In Games 1 and 2 of the 2024 Finals, Irving was the eighth or ninth best player on the court, trailing everyone from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to PJ Washington, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
The loud and obnoxious Boston fans are clearly winning.
Doncic loses, in part because his No. 2 wasn’t good enough at the start of the final.
Irving’s shot came back for Game 3, but Doncic fouled and Dallas failed again.
With Irving uneven and Doncic unable to stay on the court when it mattered in Game 3, this lopsided finale is almost over and Irving’s old team is poised to hang another championship banner from the rafters.
