Speaker 1: Welcome into NBA Pulsive production of iHeartRadio in the NBA.
Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Kustack, NBA analyst for the S Network, and
Speaker 1: today is Monday, June third, from our extraordinary core group
Speaker 1: of NBA journals for joined now by NBA dot Com
Speaker 1: senior writer Michael C. Wright. Michael, it's June third. That
Speaker 1: means we're a couple days away from June six, when
Speaker 1: the NBA Finals begin eight thirty pm Eastern on ABC.
Speaker 1: The Dallas Mavericks will be taking on the Boston Celtics
Speaker 1: in TD Garden. Luka Doncic playing in his first NBA Finals,
Speaker 1: Boston trying to do something with this core led by
Speaker 1: Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown along with jew Holiday Derek White.
Speaker 1: Hopefully for the Boston side of things, Kristaps Porzingis will
Speaker 1: make his return here in the postseason. There's a lot happening,
Speaker 1: and as we saw Boston pretty much roll through the
Speaker 1: course of this playoffs, losing only two games to get
Speaker 1: themselves here. An expectation though for a Celtics team that
Speaker 1: was far and away the best team in the league
Speaker 1: throughout the course of this season. They had I don't
Speaker 1: want to say easy road, but somewhat of a easy
Speaker 1: road getting here, just given some injuries and things that
Speaker 1: they dealt with in the first couple of rounds. Dallas,
Speaker 1: on the other side of things, he saw just spectacular,
Speaker 1: spectacular play from Luka Doncic, from Kyrie Irving. We will
Speaker 1: get to Kyrie Irving in just what a special run
Speaker 1: this has been for him individually, making his return now
Speaker 1: back to a place where he played. But when you
Speaker 1: kind of just take a big picture of you and
Speaker 1: in your first perspective on what this finals will look like,
Speaker 1: what stands out to you most? What are some of
Speaker 1: your initial thoughts that you're going to be keeping an
Speaker 1: eye on.
Speaker 2: I think, Sarah Number one is going to be matchups,
Speaker 2: like what do they do? What?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: Okay, so you know Dallas sort of played this game
Speaker 2: where they just packed the paint and sort of dared
Speaker 2: you to beat him on the perimeter. Well, I don't
Speaker 2: think you can do that against the Boston Celtics because
Speaker 2: they've they're gonna have five shooters on the floor. So
Speaker 2: how do you contend with that? Who guards Jason Tatum?
Speaker 2: Who starts on Jalen Brown? Is it gonna be PJ?
Speaker 2: Washington Dereck Jones Junior. I don't know, but that those
Speaker 2: are the things I'm looking at, just how they match
Speaker 2: up and how it ends up working out because it's
Speaker 2: Dallas is gonna have to play different than they have
Speaker 2: and Boston, as you mentioned, they sort of had an
Speaker 2: easier road to get here. You know, the best player
Speaker 2: on every team that they faced in the playoffs missed
Speaker 2: games at some point. And you know, in this this series,
Speaker 2: you've got he's gonna be the best player on the
Speaker 2: floor in Luka Doncic, and he's got a pretty good
Speaker 2: superstar sidekick and Kyrie Irving, who you just mentioned earlier,
Speaker 2: but it's gonna be tough for him. But I just
Speaker 2: like the way that both of these teams sort of matchup,
Speaker 2: But I don't know exactly how they're going to deploy
Speaker 2: these matchups.
Speaker 1: What do you think in terms of you mentioned before
Speaker 1: we get to Luke Dancic, Kyrie Irving, Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown.
Speaker 1: You're talking about that, but the fact that Doncic will
Speaker 1: be the best player in the series, But how does
Speaker 1: the depth factor in? And I think depth even too,
Speaker 1: we saw Dallas's bench reserves. Complementary players have some really
Speaker 1: significant performances, impactful performances that help them to get here.
Speaker 1: The starting five of Boston, we know how good they
Speaker 1: have been, and again we're assuming and hopeful that Christaps
Speaker 1: Porzingis will be able to come into play. But what
Speaker 1: it looks like in terms of who will be coming
Speaker 1: off their bench, how that will play in how do
Speaker 1: you think the totality of these groups and the fact
Speaker 1: that you have the best player on the Dallas side
Speaker 1: of things, but also the robust nature of how many
Speaker 1: players Boston can bring at to you in different circumstances,
Speaker 1: in different scenarios.
Speaker 2: They definitely can. And you know, I was looking at
Speaker 2: the two regular season matchups between these teams and if
Speaker 2: you remember, Jalen Brown and Drew Holliday sort of took
Speaker 2: turns guarding Luka Doncic, and then Drew and Derek White
Speaker 2: also sort of tag team Kyrie Irving. And one thing
Speaker 2: about that was they did a really good job of
Speaker 2: slowing down Kyrie, and you know that played a part
Speaker 2: in both of those Boston wins. And then you if
Speaker 2: you go back to the conference semifinals when Dallas played
Speaker 2: Oklahoma City, that's one thing the thunder we're able to
Speaker 2: do is just they sort of slowed down Kyrie and
Speaker 2: that led to them having a little success and the
Speaker 2: end of that series. So I think Kyrie is going
Speaker 2: to be a really big piece. Even though Luca is
Speaker 2: going to get all the headlines and all the spotlight.
Speaker 2: I think Kyrie Irving is going to be really important
Speaker 2: to the Dallas Mavericks. And then you know, you mentioned
Speaker 2: all the bench people. I think that Boston is a
Speaker 2: little deeper. I don't know why I think that. I
Speaker 2: guess because you know, I just like what Peyton Pritchard does.
Speaker 2: Al Horford, I like his versatility, his ability to you know,
Speaker 2: shoot the ball out on the perimeter as well as
Speaker 2: you know, play play inside. But I think both of
Speaker 2: these teams match up well depth wise too, though, because
Speaker 2: look at Derek Lively, the second rookie, twenty years old.
Speaker 2: I don't think he missed a shot in the Western
Speaker 2: Conference finals. I have to go back and look. I
Speaker 2: don't think he did.
Speaker 1: No, do you see twenty years old? Like he has
Speaker 1: a maturity and poise of a thirty year old, right,
Speaker 1: I mean it's really And you saw the difference too
Speaker 1: when he went out in Game four in that Minnesota
Speaker 1: series and then what he did then again in Game five.
Speaker 1: I do think those bigs like between him and Gafford
Speaker 1: and just what that looks like again that circles back
Speaker 1: to Porzingis. I think you talking about Holliday and what
Speaker 1: I think they're going to be so important to what happens,
Speaker 1: how this plays out. But you mentioned Kyrie Irving and
Speaker 1: he has there's been questions about him returning back to Boston.
Speaker 1: He's you know, just kind of rolled through it. We
Speaker 1: have seen a whole different I obviously covered and called games,
Speaker 1: some brilliant games, and a lot of years with Kyrie
Speaker 1: Irving with the Brooklyn Nets, and saw him go back
Speaker 1: to Boston and what that was like, just the ferocity
Speaker 1: of the environment, given the feelings towards Kyrie Irving when
Speaker 1: you look at this and again we keep using the
Speaker 1: word maturity, but just how much it seems like he
Speaker 1: is in such a good place mentally, physically, spiritually, all
Speaker 1: the things. How do you think it will affect his play?
Speaker 1: Impact is both good or bad in coming back to
Speaker 1: a place that there is such a depth of emotions
Speaker 1: and feelings, at least on the side of Boston Celtics fans.
Speaker 2: I will say, Sarah that that band aid has already
Speaker 2: been ripped off. As a matter of fact, the last
Speaker 2: time I saw you, like multiple days in a row,
Speaker 2: we were covering we were covering that that playoff series
Speaker 2: between Brooklyn and Boston at four old sweep. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think they got it out of the way. Then
Speaker 2: I think that's sort of, you know, gone and it's done.
Speaker 2: And I think that Kyrie, like you said, he's in
Speaker 2: a really good place. He's he's at peace, and you
Speaker 2: can see it and how he plays. You can see
Speaker 2: how poised he is in late game situations. I mean,
Speaker 2: I've seen it night after night, the guys in a
Speaker 2: back and forth game and you know, something bad happens,
Speaker 2: but it doesn't shake him. He just keeps going and
Speaker 2: they end up, you know, sort of turning the tide
Speaker 2: and winning winning the game. So I don't think that
Speaker 2: the Celtics fans are really going to affect him very much.
Speaker 2: And I don't think that the storylines, because you know,
Speaker 2: in all these media availabilities, they're gonna ask Kyrie over
Speaker 2: and over about coming back to Boston, and I'm telling
Speaker 2: you he's not gonna have anything to say about it.
Speaker 2: He's gonna say, hey, I already did, that's it's over.
Speaker 2: I'm in a good place now, and then that's it.
Speaker 2: Like he's gonna shut that question down every time. I
Speaker 2: think because he really is in a peaceful place. He's
Speaker 2: happy with the guys that he's playing with, and in
Speaker 2: a way, I think that the youth of the Dallas
Speaker 2: Mavericks it sort of rejuvenates him and it just and
Speaker 2: he also he realizes that, you know, he was going
Speaker 2: to all those finals when he played for Cleveland, and
Speaker 2: I think he sort of took that for granted. And
Speaker 2: I think he's in a place now where he understands
Speaker 2: that this is not easy. So it's special to be
Speaker 2: back in this place and we have a unique opportunity
Speaker 2: to go and win a ring. And then I think
Speaker 2: he really wants to win a ring with Luca Dotchich.
Speaker 2: I think those guys are really close off the court.
Speaker 1: You nailed it to me, that's what I see. What
Speaker 1: I feel kind of got some chill like thinking about there.
Speaker 1: There feels like a real love and a love to
Speaker 1: play with each other, for one another and help one
Speaker 1: another amongst those two. And then add in the fact
Speaker 1: of as you mentioned the youth of this like there
Speaker 1: there seems to be a synergy and a chemistry that
Speaker 1: goes far beyond just what they're doing on the floor.
Speaker 1: But on the floor, it feels like they fight for
Speaker 1: one another and for a player in Luka Doncic, who
Speaker 1: the trash talk, the advice, he he seems to live
Speaker 1: for that, he rises to the occasion, and I actually
Speaker 1: think when he hears that, when he sees maybe some
Speaker 1: of that vitriol towards Kyrie Irving, Yeah, be careful because
Speaker 1: I feel like that will only raise the level of
Speaker 1: his play in protection for someone he considers a brother
Speaker 1: and vice versa. So to me, I actually I think
Speaker 1: that may really benefit just this group as a whole,
Speaker 1: because I think they live for these I think they're
Speaker 1: they're cut from that cloth and they are built for
Speaker 1: these type of things. In that stage will not affect
Speaker 1: them whatsoever. With that being said, though we've seen this
Speaker 1: Boston team, despite the fact that they have rolled through
Speaker 1: the playoffs, they have obviously played tremendous with one another
Speaker 1: and through the course of the regular season, it hasn't
Speaker 1: always been that way at home. Where do you think
Speaker 1: the pressure maybe if you'd call pressure lies for both
Speaker 1: of these teams on both sides, and kind of how
Speaker 1: you look at the expectations of what this finals will
Speaker 1: mean for this Boston Celtics team as they're currently constructed
Speaker 1: in just the fact that they have been here before
Speaker 1: but have not accomplished what they've set out to in
Speaker 1: a multitude of years.
Speaker 2: Despite the success, It's very interesting the dynamic between both
Speaker 2: these teams. I think Dallas, I think Jason Kidd feels
Speaker 2: like he's playing with house money at this point. I mean,
Speaker 2: they made it to a conference final in his first
Speaker 2: season as the Mavericks head coach, and then you know,
Speaker 2: coming into this season, nobody expected the Mavericks to be here.
Speaker 2: I mean there was a point in the season, and
Speaker 2: I mean pretty late in the season where the Mavericks
Speaker 2: were sort of in playing tournament territory and you didn't
Speaker 2: even know if they would make it to the playoffs.
Speaker 2: They made that trade at the trade deadline, and it
Speaker 2: changed everything. I remember you and I talking about it,
Speaker 2: and we didn't know what it meant, but it just
Speaker 2: seemed like two pretty good pieces that could help them.
Speaker 2: We didn't know exactly how it was gonna work out
Speaker 2: for him, so Dallas. I don't think has any pressure
Speaker 2: on them. I think it the Mavericks are you know,
Speaker 2: they just feel like, hey, we're happy to be here,
Speaker 2: we have an opportunity, but we know we will be back. Boston, meanwhile,
Speaker 2: I think is under some pressure because of the fact
Speaker 2: that a couple of years ago, just a couple of
Speaker 2: years ago, they were in the finals against Golden State,
Speaker 2: and they really had an opportunity to take control of
Speaker 2: that series and they sort of let one slip away
Speaker 2: in Boston, I think, and the Warriors ended up winning
Speaker 2: that series. And I think that, you know, there was
Speaker 2: a lot of criticism on some of those guys, you know,
Speaker 2: like Jason Tatum the whole time, that whole series, we
Speaker 2: kept waiting for a Jason Tatum performance and we never
Speaker 2: got it. Jalen Brown, he played his butt off that series,
Speaker 2: but we didn't have both those stars performing at that
Speaker 2: high level that we've become accustomed to. So I do
Speaker 2: think that there's more pressure on them. But at the
Speaker 2: same time, this is a different Boston Celtics team than
Speaker 2: that one that made the finals a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2: You know, you added a couple of really good pieces.
Speaker 2: I mean You've got Drew Holliday Porzingis. I think those
Speaker 2: guys can really be X factor difference maker types in
Speaker 2: this series. So even though they have more pressure on them,
Speaker 2: they are a much better team than they were before.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you said it. Drew Holliday, who has been
Speaker 1: there and won a championship and just the added element
Speaker 1: that Porzingis will bring. We're gonna take a break, Michael,
Speaker 1: and then we're gonna get into predictions for Game one.
Speaker 1: Who do you think? Who do you think is coming
Speaker 1: away with the dub We'll be back. Welcome back to NBA.
Speaker 1: Paul Sarakustak, joined by the great Michael c Right. Okay, Michael,
Speaker 1: before we give some predictions for what we think will
Speaker 1: happen in Game one. You out of the gates. In
Speaker 1: the beginning of this podcast talked about matchups. There's also
Speaker 1: a matchup on the sideline, Jason Kidd Joe Missoula. Just
Speaker 1: what Jason Kidd. I think he's been an instrumental part
Speaker 1: of the play of Kyrie Irving of bringing these guys together,
Speaker 1: some of the creativity that he has shown. He's someone
Speaker 1: and bring it back to saw him in his first
Speaker 1: year as a head coach at Brooklyn and just the
Speaker 1: different stops that he's been at and how he's continued
Speaker 1: to grow. Meanside, Joe missoula very very challenging situation that
Speaker 1: he was placed in and just kind of thrown in
Speaker 1: the fire last year, some heavy critique in just the
Speaker 1: way in which things went through the postseason last year.
Speaker 1: On his side of things seemed to grow as anyone
Speaker 1: would in that position. But you talk about the youth
Speaker 1: of where he's at in this in this role, what
Speaker 1: do you think of the matchup between these coaches and
Speaker 1: if you think there is an edge on either side
Speaker 1: that will have an impact and ultimately what happens here.
Speaker 2: Well, I try not to buy too much into the
Speaker 2: whole former players that are coaches, you know, the whole
Speaker 2: argument that oh, you hit me coaching the game, you know,
Speaker 2: blah blah blah. But Jason Kidd is a Hall of
Speaker 2: Fame boy guard. And you know, one of the things
Speaker 2: that you'll hear Jason talk about a lot is the
Speaker 2: trust that they all have in one another, Like that
Speaker 2: that young team, they trust Kyrie Irving and clutch situations,
Speaker 2: they trust Luka Dancic in those clutch situations. But at
Speaker 2: the same time, those two superstars. They trust Jason Kidd,
Speaker 2: they trust that he's going to put them in a
Speaker 2: position to succeed on a night to night basis. And
Speaker 2: you've seen these game plans, and one thing about the
Speaker 2: Mavericks in my opinion, is that they are really comfortable
Speaker 2: in the game plans, Like there's no second guess in it.
Speaker 2: They are playing one hundred miles an hour. There's no
Speaker 2: confusion because Jason sort of simplifies it for everybody. And
Speaker 2: so that like that matchup is going to be interesting.
Speaker 2: But I like if we go if we look at
Speaker 2: Game one, for instance, I think that that is going
Speaker 2: to be more of a fill out type process because
Speaker 2: I don't think, as I mentioned before, I don't think
Speaker 2: Dallas can play that same style against the team that
Speaker 2: has shooters all over the floor. I mean, the Celtics
Speaker 2: did lead the NBA in threes, may threes and attempted threes,
Speaker 2: shooting at thirty eight point eight percent. So that's going
Speaker 2: to be a big factor in this series in my mind.
Speaker 1: So what do you think with all that being said,
Speaker 1: Game one, just everything that goes and we tell you
Speaker 1: and this is this is a whole different deal, whether
Speaker 1: it's the attention, the added media, families getting ready for
Speaker 1: there's a lot extra that goes into the finals that
Speaker 1: weighs on players. What do you think happens here in
Speaker 1: Game one at Boston?
Speaker 2: I think, well, first off, let's look at the playoffs,
Speaker 2: the totality of the playoffs. The Mavericks typically don't win
Speaker 2: Game one. They just don't. I don't know why, but
Speaker 2: I think, as I mentioned, it's sort of a filling
Speaker 2: out process. And let's also not diminish the fact that
Speaker 2: the Boston Celtics have been here before recently, and so
Speaker 2: they understand what the whole process is. And I'm sure that,
Speaker 2: like you know, the first time around, some of it
Speaker 2: got to them, you know, all the extra media responsibilities,
Speaker 2: you know, the extra time between games. I mean, it
Speaker 2: won't be that way until the end, you know, like
Speaker 2: the back half of the series, but like those are
Speaker 2: all things that take getting used to, and I think
Speaker 2: Boston is already there. And you know, you saw how
Speaker 2: they sort of methodically went through the regular season, like
Speaker 2: they never got too high about what they were doing.
Speaker 2: I mean, they were beating people up, like at a
Speaker 2: historic level, but it was sort of like Okay, yeah,
Speaker 2: we're just taking it one game at a time. We're
Speaker 2: just trying to get, you know, back to the finals
Speaker 2: or whatever. But it was never like, hey, look at us,
Speaker 2: like beat our chest. It was none of that. So again,
Speaker 2: they've been there, so I think they've got the advantage
Speaker 2: in that situation. And you know, at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, Ball, I mean, Dallas is still a young
Speaker 2: team for the most part, and so I do wonder
Speaker 2: how they deal with that atmosphere and TD Garden because oh,
Speaker 2: a couple of years ago when I covered the finals
Speaker 2: out there, that whole building shakes. It is amazing, and
Speaker 2: so I was a little overwhelmed by the atmosphere. So
Speaker 2: I can only imagine what they're going through.
Speaker 1: I think when you have Luca and Kyrie leading the
Speaker 1: way I think things, I agree with everything you said.
Speaker 1: I kind of think for the flips out of things.
Speaker 1: So all the pressure to me is on Boston, it is,
Speaker 1: and sometimes those game one despite being there before, sometimes
Speaker 1: though that that allows you to potentially overthink things, and
Speaker 1: Boston is sweeping. The has had a lot of time
Speaker 1: to think through things. Uh. I think the MAVs, like
Speaker 1: you said that, they very rarely get game one. They
Speaker 1: got game one in that Minnesota series. I think that
Speaker 1: they I think they come away with this one. I
Speaker 1: think they got no pressure. They'll be playing loose and
Speaker 1: I think they will be able to kind of soak
Speaker 1: in that environment in a different way. And because of
Speaker 1: that freedom of play, I think they I think they
Speaker 1: steal game one.
Speaker 2: But one point you made, though, Sarah, is the whole
Speaker 2: Kyrie back to Boston angle, and that you were right
Speaker 2: on the money there. You mess around and make Luca mad,
Speaker 2: messing with messing with Kyrie, mess around and making mad
Speaker 2: where he's in a situation where he's talking to the
Speaker 2: fans and stuff like that. You don't want that. You
Speaker 2: don't want that, Luca. That's forty five eleven and eleven, Luca,
Speaker 2: you don't want that. So you're right there on the.
Speaker 1: Look a side of things. And then I think that
Speaker 1: adds a different feel for then how Kyrie can play
Speaker 1: when he knows he's got this guy, yes that is
Speaker 1: willing and wants to take on so much of that fury.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think it's going to be amazing. Michael.
Speaker 1: I think we are set for a tremendous, tremendous finals.
Speaker 1: We hit a couple of them. There are story so
Speaker 1: many storylines, and I know they will continue to grow.
Speaker 1: So I can't wait. I know you can't wait. Eight
Speaker 1: thirty pm, Saturday Night, ABC, and we'll continue reading, watching
Speaker 1: all your stuff and look forward to talking with you again.
Speaker 2: All right, Sarah, I have a good one.
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