The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks will tip-off Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, and ahead of the series Celtics guard Jrue Holiday made it clear that he knows it won’t be an easy task to slow down Dallas’ backcourt tandem of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Holiday offered a brutally honest one-word answer when asked how the team is going to slow down the scalding hot Mavericks’ duo.
“Pray,” said Holiday of how he intends to try to stop Irving in a one-on-one matchup.
“What can you do to nullify/thwart/stop Kyrie?”
Jrue Holiday: Pray
Thus far into the postseason, Irving and Doncic are combining to average 51.6 points per game. Through 17 games, Irving has shot 48.5% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range, both of which are the best shooting percentages in the playoffs in his career. Doncic has nearly logged a nightly triple-double, with averages of 28.8 points, 8.8 assists (the most among any player during this year’s playoffs) and 9.6 rebounds.
Although Holiday and Derrick White make up one of the most stalwart defensive backcourts in the league, the 33-year-old admitted that simply playing good defense won’t be enough to quell the hot hands of Doncic and Irving.
KARL RASMUSSEN
