Scattered thoughts before the NBA Finals

For the second time in three years the Boston Celtics are back in the NBA Finals.

The first draft of that sentence was “we’re back in the NBA Finals” because I’m a fan first. I changed it because technically I’ve never scored a basket for the team. Also because SEO experts tell me it is good to get the full team name in the first few sentences and I’m greedy for more clicks. All that said, it still feels like a “we” thing because without us, there’s no team. So yeah, we’re back in the NBA Finals.

Anyway, I have tons of thoughts on the Finals but very few of them could be stretched into a full fledged article dedicated to them. So I’m reverting to the old Bob Ryan notebook style of writing. Or as I like to think of it, the Dunkin Munchkins style where each little tasty thought is a different flavor but still filling in the aggregate.

Porzingis Swing Factor

I think this is abundantly obvious, but it can’t be overstated how important Kristaps Porzingis should be in this series. The Celtics handled the first 3 rounds of the playoffs largely without The Unicorn, but this matchup will be the toughest we’ll face.

The Celtics have an amazing defense, but so did the Timberwolves and Luka was able to carve them up repeatedly. If he and Kyrie get it going, the Celtics are going to have to outscore the Mavs. We have a pretty prolific duo on our side as well, but sometimes you need another go-to option. Joe Mazzulla’s curveball all year has been Porzingis.

He stretches the floor, flashes to the nail (high post), and gives the Jays a perfect pick and pop outlet. He’s a walking mismatch because of his size and his presence blows up so many defensive schemes designed to slow down the Jays.

However, as has been the case from the moment we traded for him, everything depends on his health and availability. My sense from listening to smarter people than myself is that he’s had ample time to recover (in theory). He’ll benefit from the long layoffs between games (in theory). He also has Al Horford there to support him as he eases into his normal rotation minutes (in theory). We just have to see how all those theories play out in execution.

Kyrie Discourse

I still have a great deal of topic fatigue when it comes to Kyrie Irving. After covering him for his tenure in Boston and the subsequent years and stories surrounding him, I’m just tired of it all. I was blissfully able to dismiss him as someone else’s job to cover for a long time. But now here he is again. I know the staff is covering this angle in more depth, but I wanted to give my brief thoughts here.

If you know me, you know that I’m all for forgiveness and providing people a chance to redeem themselves. By most accounts, he has been a model teammate in Dallas and has thrived on the court next to Luka. It sounds like former teammates hold no grudges and have moved on. I’m not close enough to the situation to know for sure, but there are some indications that he’s grown and matured and put some of that stuff behind him. If so, that’s great and I’m happy for him.

That doesn’t erase what he did in Boston and some of the stuff he did after that. The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo makes this point and I think he’s spot on. There are some out there that are trying to change history and make the case that we were all wrong about him all along. Nope. He still did those things and if some fans are still upset with him about that, I get it.

I think I’ve largely moved on, mostly for my own peace, but if you want to boo him and root against him, that’s your right as a fan within reason. And that last part is critical. I sincerely hope that it doesn’t cross the line. One bad apple is all it takes.

Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Legacy Time

Either Luka Doncic is going to get his first title or the Jays will. That’s huge.

If it is Luka, then he has a legit argument for the nebulous title of “best player in the game.” If the Celtics lose, then all the questions about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will bubble up to the top again. Or perhaps I should say that the questions will boil over since they’ve already been a topic despite their dominance all season long. Fair or not, the Jays will have cemented their reputation as being very good, but not great enough in the brightest of lights. They cannot escape that narrative until they win. That’s how these things work.

But if they win…

Let’s leave that for after the series. But let’s just say that it changes everything for them.

Celtics in 6

In some ways, this version of the Mavericks reminds me of the 2022 Celtics. They struggled early in the season but found their identity in defense and two special scorers (and of course 3 pointers). The Celtics entered the Finals that year with a real chance to win the title but ran up against a more seasoned Golden State Warriors.

This year, the Celtics are the more experience team (albeit without the rings). The analogy isn’t perfect of course. Kyrie has a ring (and a pretty epic clutch basket) and Luka feels more poised to handle the bright lights than the Jays did that year.

I just have a tremendous level of confidence in this Boston team. There’s so much talent in the top-6. They have a special defense that has ratcheted up when they needed it the most this playoffs. There’s a maturity in Jayson and Jaylen that is hard to quantify. They just seem ready to take that next step and finish the job. And when the 3 pointers are falling for Boston, the math just wins.

I respect Luka enough to say that he’ll will them to at least a couple of wins. But ultimately I think the Celtics are going to win this thing. Can’t wait to see it play out.