The NBA Finals series between the Mavericks and Celtics features several big storylines, but few are bigger than Kyrie Irving facing his former team.
Irving, one of three former NBA champions to participate in this year’s series, has more Finals experience than any other player on the court.
However, despite the heroics he has displayed during Dallas’ playoff run, Irving hasn’t been the best version of himself through the first two games. And now his team faces a 2-0 deficit in the championship series.
The biggest takeaway: The 32-year-old point guard must be better for the Mavericks to have a chance to win the series. Here’s a deeper look at Irving’s struggles to open the NBA Finals.
Kyrie Irving’s NBA Finals stats against the Celtics
Here’s a look at Irving’s numbers in Games 1 and 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals and how they compare to his performance in the rest of the postseason.
| NBA Finals 2024 | NBA Playoffs 2024 | |
| Games | 2 | 17 |
| MPG | 39.0 | 40.3 |
| PPG | 14.0 | 22.8 |
| role playing game | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| APG | 4.0 | 5.2 |
| ATAVIAR | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| GF% | 35.1 | 48.5 |
| 3FG% | 0.0 | 42.1 |
| FOOT% | 100.0 | 82.8 |
Through two NBA Finals games, Irving has missed all eight of his 3-point attempts and is shooting just 35.1% from the field. It’s a sharp drop in efficiency for Irving, who made 2.6 3-pointers per game at a 42.1% clip over the first three rounds.
In the Finals, Irving has been defended by defensive guards Jrue Holiday and Derrick White more than anyone else. based on NBA.com matchup data. Irving has also been protected by another group of staunch defenders: Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
As talented as Irving is offensively, it’s extremely difficult to get buckets against those players, each of whom play a key role in one of the league’s strongest defenses. This was evident in Game 1, where Irving was 3 of 9 from the field in the first half and 6 of 19 during the game.
Look how hard he had to work to get his first basket of the night.
In Game 2, Irving seemed to settle in, scoring 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the first half.
The second half was not so kind. Boston’s defense limited Irving to six points on 2-of-8 shooting, although he managed to dish out three more assists to bring his total to six for the game. This possession shows how hard he had to work to try to get to where he was.
Why is Kyrie Irving struggling against the Celtics?
After Game 2, Irving was transparent about his shortcomings.
“A lot of shots hit the back rim,” Irving said. “That might make you angry as a competitor, but it’s all part of the game of basketball. And you have to accept the ups and downs of it.
“That is, I would say, the most difficult challenge when you are in a series. You want to play extremely well, especially when you play in a final.”
Irving lamented the fact that he was unable to take advantage of opportunities at the line and specifically credited the defense of Brown, Holiday and White.
In particular, Irving acknowledged Boston’s focus on pushing him toward his left hand, which he will look to counter as the series progresses.
Kyrie Irving’s NBA Finals Stats: 2016 vs. 2024
Irving was a member of the 2016 Cavaliers, one of five teams in NBA history to overcome a 2-0 series deficit to win the NBA Finals. The parallels begin with the series deficit and deepen when analyzing Irving’s struggles to start each series.
| 2016 NBA Finals | NBA Finals 2024 | |
| Games | 2 | 2 |
| MPG | 35.4 | 39.0 |
| PPG | 18.0 | 14.0 |
| role playing game | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| APG | 2.5 | 4.0 |
| ATAVIAR | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| GF% | 33.3 | 35.1 |
| 3FG% | 14.3 | 0.0 |
| FOOT% | 91.7 | 100.0 |
In 2016, Irving was able to bounce back and deliver several incredible performances. In Games 3 through 5, Irving scored games of 30, 34, and 41 points and in Game 7, Irving hit a three-pointer to put Cleveland ahead for good and help clinch the series.
Eight years later, Irving has admitted that he will look to draw on his experiences from that series.
“Being in the finals before, losing 0-2, I have a little experience with this,” Irving said. “I also didn’t play particularly well in the first two games of that series, which I’m referring to.
“So now I’m leaning on what I’ve experienced, what I’ve learned and some of the lessons that I’ve been able to understand about getting back into this series because it’s going to be a possession-by-possession thing, and it’s going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” we have ever done.”
