LUKA TRAGIC FAILS AND RIPS THE OFFICIALS, WHILE CELTICS PREPARE FOR A 16-2 TITLE
There is a classic way to win an NBA championship, as Boston demonstrated again without Porzingis, while Dallas must deal with Doncic’s maddening immaturity after he fouled out with 4:12 remaining
He showed up in a white suit and left in mud. Luka Doncic fouled out of a game that he was supposed to rule, at home in Dallas, when the opponents lost a big man missing with a left tibialis posterior dislocation — wait, there’s more — caused by a torn medial retinaculum. This should have been an easy assignment, but instead, Doncic looked at the official, lifted his arms in anger, screamed at his bench and didn’t grasp why he was called for a sixth foul.
His feet were not positioned on the hardwood as a defender, which most players learn about in the fifth grade. He was disqualified from Game 3 of the NBA Finals with a blocking foul against a driving Jaylen Brown. The celebration of the Boston Celtics, with an impending 18th league banner, could begin right there and then with 4:12 left. They have one victory to claim with a 3-0 lead, when none of the previous 156 teams have blown such an advantage, and if they win Friday evening, we’ll wonder if the Celtics should be remembered among the better postseason teams ever to play basketball. They’ve won 10 straight games and could finish 16-2.
All because Doncic, who complains way too often and makes mistakes in the biggest moments, gutted the Mavericks with another interlude of immaturity. The referees have no reason to do anything but favor him in such situations. The NBA wants to prolong the series and push it toward a seventh game. There is no conspiracy against him when the commissioner, Adam Silver, likes him as the latest Eurostud playing for glory. The Celtics again played like an exquisite team, with Brown and Jayson Tatum both scoring at least 30 points with five rebounds and five assists, never done before in the green franchise’s deep history.
Luka Magic? Again, Luka Tragic.
“I mean, I don’t know. We couldn’t play physical,” said Doncic, asked about the fourth quarter after a 106-99 loss. “But you know, six fouls in the NBA Finals. I’m basically, I’m like this (hands out). Come on, man. Better than that.”
Better than what? Better than right?
At some point, he’ll realize moaning about the officials during the game and moaning about the officials after the game is not a recipe for a championship. Even Kyrie Irving seemed to notice, saying, “Let the human emotions come out. Just give him a hug. That’s it, man. It’s easy to point the finger at just him. Say ‘you could be better.’ And that’s easy to say. I think he knows that. It’s just reiterating that I got his back and we all have his back.”
“He’s definitely got a bull’s-eye on his chest,” said his coach, Jason Kidd. “He’s got to be able to play the game where he can rest on offense and let others carry the load.”
The back support will last the entire summer, when folks ask if LeBron James might pay attention and whether the Mavericks belong as Denver, Minnesota and Oklahoma City roar in the Western Conference. Doncic is 25 and remains a megaforce, but he has exposed himself in these Finals. His triple-doubles have stopped as he struggles with fatigue in crunch time. He says the Celtics have figured out how to play him with their own physical play, saying, “They are pretty, pretty amazing on defense.” That isn’t what the league and ESPN want to hear, with the post-game program foolishly making a case that the sixth foul shouldn’t have been whistled on Doncic. Look, these are the Finals. One team is not worthy.
The other team might conclude as the only group ever to win 16 of 18 games. The only teams to fare better: the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors at 16-1, the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers at 15-1 and the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers at 12-1. Scheduling changes left the best of the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons at 15-2. These are the greatest of postseason champions. The Celtics belong beside them.
They were built by Brad Stevens, the college coach who became an extraordinary pro executive. He found a head coach, Joe Mazzulla, who replaced Ime Udoka, who was let go two years ago after having an interoffice romantic affair. After struggles last season, when the Celtics lost to Miami, the coach is in complete control of his roster. He’s only 35 and doesn’t hesitate showing videos of killer whales and hyenas to his players. “It could be anything,” guard Derrick White said. “A lot of ocean, a lot of nature. He loves that predator-prey lifestyle.” He also walks around the team complex in his bare feet and commands help from soccer friend Pep Guardiola, who has managed Manchester City in the Premier League to six titles in seven seasons.
It works. “You've got to understand we are just as vulnerable if not more vulnerable than they are," Mazzulla claimed Wednesday night. “When you understand that you're vulnerable and your back's against the wall, you've got to fight. And so that's the mindset that we have to have.”
Not needing Kristaps Porzingis, who was outstanding in the first two games before his bizarre ankle injury, the Celtics will try to complete an unbeaten playoff road record. It’s hard to believe they lost once to Miami and once to Cleveland before sweeping Indiana and threatening to sweep Dallas. Were they bored in April and May?
“We’re not necessarily saying ‘one more’ or anything like that — we are just saying, however long it takes,” said Tatum, who finally had a breakthrough performance. “No one is relaxed. Nobody is satisfied.”
A snapshot was required when Tatum hugged Brown afterward. Not only do they get along, they look wonderful as champs. Brown has been relentless in defending Doncic. “We’ve been in those positions, and we’ve lost. It was great to overcome that with my brother, Jayson, and with our team. That was special,” said Jaylen, who blew past Irving for a memorable dunk. “All year long, we’ve been hearing about the Celtics of the past, for the last six to eight months, all we’ve heard are the different shortcomings. This is a new team, you know what I mean? We learned from those experiences.
“We stepped up to the plate, and we found a way to win.”
They did so as Dallas found a way to lose. This summer, Doncic might learn about trashing officials and lose 20 pounds. But in Boston, after a duck boat parade, some of us might be viewing the beginnings of a long run. Tom Brady showed up in Foxborough for a Wednesday night tribute from the New England Patriots.
Was anyone even watching?
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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.