HOW GREAT ARE THE CELTICS WHEN KRISTAPS PORZINGIS MAKES THEM COMPLETE
After Luka Doncic managed just one assist and Kyrie Irving went silent, we’re focused on Boston’s five-man mystique when Porzingis returns from a calf injury and lights up Game 1 of the NBA Finals
They’ve played only 48 minutes, but so far, we’re seeing more Wahlbergs in Boston than anyone in a Mavericks uniform. Will Smith is flashing bigger intestines in the NBA Finals than Kyrie Irving without even heaving a slap, telling off Jimmy Butler and Lionel Messi in “Bad Boys” commercials. All we needed was Kristaps Porzingis emerging from the tunnel, smiling and waving at the boisterous fans, before turning loose All That Was Left for the Celtics.
Suddenly, the take has changed. Are we watching, with the return of the 7-2 cyclops, a team that will dominate the series and be remembered as one of the better teams in recent memory? As Porzingis returned after missing 38 days with a calf strain, he took over the TD Garden scene with a massive first half — 18 points, two three-pointers, two blocks — that turned Game 1 into a celebration. Forget about the 18th title banner. What actually are we watching? Collective greatness?
“The adrenaline was pumping through my veins,” Porzingis said. “I did everything I could to prepare for this moment. Tonight was affirmation to myself that I’m pretty good. I’m not perfect, but I can play like this and add to this team.”
There was Jaylen Brown, stealing the ball from Luka Doncic twice and jamming hard, rejecting leather when he wanted. There was Jayson Tatum, showing none of the stress he discussed before the series. The Celtics shot their threes and made enough — from Derrick White to Sam Hauser — and by the time people realized the hated Irving was on the other team, they didn’t care much. They built a 29-point advantage, let go briefly, then cruised to a 107-89 victory that had Doncic realizing the Finals cannot be won by himself. What happened to “the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen,” as LeBron James claimed? Irving faded, as he did in New England five years ago.
And how many assists did Doncic have Thursday night?
One.
“They mostly play one-on-one. They send a lot of help, so that’s why,” he explained. “Either you lose or you win. First to four, we’ve got to focus on the next game.”
“We’ve got to move the ball,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who saw only five assists through three quarters. “The ball got stuck too much.”
Now we’re debating if Tatum and Brown are superlative together, one as the quieter leader and the other as a firebrand. Someone asked Tatum about pressure. “I mean, you know the answer to that. Of course,” he said. “We only hang NBA championship banners, right? Seventeen of them. Some of the greatest players to ever play this game wore this uniform. All of us are honored to follow in their footsteps, the way they paved for us to live out our dream. Essentially, yeah, if you want to be one of the greats to put on this uniform, every great before you won a championship. That's what we try to play for every single season. The expectations are obviously different here. It takes special players to be here and to be a part of an environment like that.”
And now we’re asking if Porzingis, with two-way immediacy, is the marked difference between another Finals team and a substantial one. It wasn’t long ago when he was in Dallas, trying to form a bridge with Doncic, and the idea didn’t pan out. Luka became a superstar. Kristaps was crushed away. First he was sent to Washington before he was devoured by Brad Stevens, Boston’s president of basketball operations. What we have now is beauty.
“That’s the KP that helped us get to where we are today,” said Joe Mazzulla, the youngest NBA Finals coach since Bill Russell in Celtics green. “It doesn’t matter how long the guy is off, he’s going to make plays.”
Said Tatum: “Kristaps Porzingis, what a transition to come back. I’m glad he’s back.”
He fits perfectly into a team of fabulous talents. In Dallas, the centerpiece is Doncic, who needed Irving to make a Finals boost. “We had some decent moments, but overall it just didn't work for both sides. It wasn't perfect,” Porzingis said. “I would say everything — teammates, locker room — I know at that time there were some rumors that there was something in the locker room. It was never like that. It was all just noise at the end. It just wasn't perfect for us playing together, and it didn't work out. And that's it. There's no ill will, I don't think from their side. For sure, (there is not) from my side. I don't think there should be. It just didn't work out, but I have nothing but love for Dallas and for my teammates and for everybody there.”
Said Doncic, who might have missed him: “I don't know why it didn't work. We were still both young. We tried to make it work, but it just didn’t work. So we moved on.” A former teammate named Chandler Parsons said they didn’t get along. Doesn’t matter at this point, with Porzingis three victories from a ring.
The trick will be if Doncic can awaken Irving before Sunday. He marvels at Kyrie’s whims, saying, “The things he even tries in the game, it’s insane. I don’t see nobody trying those shots.” In Game 1, he scored 12 points and hit just 6 of 19 shots, missing all five three-pointers with only two assists. How many open shots did he miss? How many times did he lose control of the ball?
“I thought it was going to be a little louder in here,” Irving said. “I’m expecting the same thing (in Game 2). The crowd's trying to get me out of my element. It's not the first time I've lost in Boston. I don't want to make it a habit.”
All week, he spoke of being in a redemptive movie. “I see it as a healthy relationship with the fans. I think about ‘Gladiator’ and just win the crowd over,” Irving said. “I have a group to lead that’s looking to me for a voice of peace.” The crowd booed at first when he touched the ball, then simply subtracted one from four.
The habit the Mavericks won’t overcome are three-pointers. The Celtics made 16 of 42, compared to 7 of 27 for the losers. This is the scheme, uploaded from Golden State because the rotation involves more than the Splash Brothers. “We’ve got to take those threes away. That’s what hurt us the most,” Doncic said. “They are the best three-point shooting team in the NBA, so sometimes it’s really hard to take those away. Especially when they have five guys out and they can all shoot.”
Sounds bleak. But at least Will Smith seems happy again.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.