In many ways, Irving appears to be, if not a new man, a least a more mature one
The Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks kick off the NBA Finals on Thursday and for Duke fans, that means Jayson Tatum vs. Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively, with Amile Jefferson as an assistant coach on the Celtics bench.
There are some great sub-themes in the series. First of all, Tatum has a chance to put himself in the absolute top tier of NBA players. The only thing that has kept him from that discussion is that he hasn’t won an NBA title and you know he’s ready to put that to rest.
For his part, Lively has talked a lot about his mother, who recently passed. They were extremely close so he’s had a lot to deal with. Duke fans learned that he was a tremendous teammate, something that his Dallas teammates are coming to understand, because Lively will do whatever is needed to help his team win.
And then there is Irving, who has had a remarkable season, so remarkable that people have stopped talking about how awkward his time with Brooklyn was, and that’s saying a lot.
Honestly, it’s hard to remember everything. There was the vaccine controversy, the trade request and most damagingly, his tweets about a movie called Hebrews to Negroes, which is widely regarded as anti-semitic.
This all came after his acrimonious departure from Cleveland, then Boston, and there was a real sense that he might not be able to find another team.
He ended up with Dallas though, and things changed.
Though a lot of people thought it wouldn’t succeed, Irving has worked out a brilliant partnership with Luka Doncic and he’s emerged as a mature and thoughtful team leader.
And clearly he’s been reflective and is grateful to get a chance to re-emerge as one of the NBA’s greatest talents - and this time without the controversy. It’s really nice to be able to focus on the basketball, because Irving is a brilliant talent.
It’s hard to get a really good grip on this series though. One of the other sub-themes is Irving and Boston having this reunion at the summit. On one of his trips back to Beantown as a Net, Irving gave the fans a one-fingered salute - several actually. Clearly there was bad blood.
Even there though he seems more mature, even if the Boston fans aren’t (sorry, love those fans, but it’s true). He’s not going to be flipping them off this time or doing things to inflame one of the greatest fan bases in all sports.
Keep an eye on this too: Dallas has gotten particularly good at controlling the lane, something Lively has really helped with.
Thing is, Boston doesn’t always rely on scoring in the lane. The Celtics are a tremendous three-point shooting team and like Dallas, they’re also good defensively. Stopping Irving and Doncic won’t be easy but the rest of the team should be manageable. And on top of that, the Celtics have gone most of the post-season without Kristaps Porzyngas. He should be back and a 7-3 guy firing off threes changes things. Someone has to go out there with him and if it’s Lively, the lane will open up.
Whatever happens, it’s going to be an interesting series and someone from Duke, possibly two someones, will get some new jewelry soon.
