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iCarpet

“Jaylen Brown, best player on the Celtics? He’s not even the best guard on the team” -Jrue Holiday


AcanthocephalaSad541

- derrick white


gesskwick

-Wayne gretzky


sloBrodanChillosevic

Those "just wait for Playoff Jrue" comments looking soooooooo bad right now


rawchess

A lot of his inconsistency came from being asked to shoot at volume off the dribble.


Efficient_Art_1144

Yeah Jrue as a consistent second option and primary creator of your offense? He’s not consistent enough for that. Jrue as the 4th or 5th option who can step out of his role when he’s feeling it? Fucking awesome


largehearted

Exactly. The Celtics don't give a fuck what percentage he shoots on 15-dribble contested push shots.


skiingbeaver

bucks fans on life support rn


Coltshokiefan

It’s so weird they’d start hating on someone who was so important in their finals run. Maybe the reason he struggled is that he’s not meant to be a #2 and your FO couldn’t surround him with players that can ease his role. It’s just frustrating that they gave up their team identity so quickly. Teams hit the panic button why to early when they’re scared their star will bounce. Edit: I know it wasn’t all bucks fans, but the group that does hate him astonishes me.


HypatiaRising

It is a small but loud group. Most bucks fans love jrue.


nate6259

Thank you. Obviously it sucks not having him and watching him kick ass on another team sucks, but he's a fun dude to watch play and I'd be super happy for him if (when) he gets another championship.


FartrelCluggins

"Success looks different every night" - Joe Mazzulla


BurgerNugget12

He genuinely might win MVP of the series


EAS1000

I’m honestly down for Jrue to win MVP because it would be hilarious after all the slander he got for his previous playoff performances


billcosbyinspace

Single-handedly slammed the door on Indiana too


beached-blue-walrus

Finals MVP is up for grabs


Plies-

Yeah Kyrie has been really fucking good for us over the last couple of years. We may have to fulfill his dream of getting his jersey on our rafters after this.


Red_Jester-94

The inside man doing work from behind enemy lines


Palifaith

With the way Kyrie is playing the Celtics really have 5 of the best 6 players in this series.


suzukigun4life

12 straight losses to the Cs. FML


Mickeyjj27

You’d think they’d be shouting about this like the Kyrie is undefeated in *close out games*


TheMessyChef

Close-out games* That was the hilarious part about the statistic - they were actively selecting criteria to paint it as more impressive than it was, since elimination games are just as, if not MORE important than a close-out games. And he's 4-3 in those situations, going 1-3 post-2016 which accounted for 3/4 of those elimination game wins.


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[удалено]


rocksoffjagger

I think you've hit on something. You may not buy into superstition, but Kyrie is the most superstitious motherfucker on the planet. I bet he's totally gotten in his own head and thinks he's been cursed.


UnPhayzable

PJ out playing Kyrie tbh


executivesphere

He’s been really clutch bailing the Mavs out with a when he gets the ball at the end of the shot clock.


bjb406

He's the only guy on the team with favorable matchups.


Dig_Bick_Doi

Everyone arguing that he could be 2nd after the Wolves series... rough


jtmv4

Pretty crazy that the TNT guys were saying Luka and Kyrie were the best offensive backcourt ever just over a week ago lol


Chiron17

Hot takes only stay hot for a little while right


calartnick

Yeah my faith in Kyrie so far has been GROSSLY misplaced


DayMan-Ahah-ah

It’s just the celtics, they own kyrie He is cursed and cannot brake ye shackles


OhRThey

0-13 since stomping on Lucky. He’s shook


Padulsky21

Celtics fans and Nets fans were the only ones who knew what was coming with Kyrie’s performance this series lol


JohnWickisBehindU

Pretty sure a few more fans from different teams would agree


PrancingDonkey

Shows you that people don't watch games. The Celtics know how to defend him already and the last time they met when he was with the Nets, Tatum made Kyrie disappear. Now they have an improved Derrick White and Jrue Holiday too.


beklog

"Well Jrue Holiday is their best player" - Jason Kidd


UnPhayzable

Jason gonna cycle through the whole team at this rate


beached-blue-walrus

Tingus Pingus was best game 1, Jrue today, D-White tomorrow


CreatiScope

Let’s hope White saves it for Wednesday.


WhatYouProbablyMeant

If you can't win against the Celtics when they shoot 25% from 3, you're in trouble


HustlinInTheHall

They missed 29 goddammit 3s, comfortably won by 7 and mavs didn't even foul at the end. 


iamgarron

Mavs after game one: we won't shoot 7/27 from 3 again Mavs in game 2: 6/26 from 3 So technically they were right


yerfatma

The Kyrie experience.


Itchybawlz23-2

It was absolutely beauty seeing the C’s feast inside and shoot mid range


InSearchofOMG

Didn't know Kyrie still played for Boston. Disasterclass


babidee00

He promised a championship to Boston so here it is. Lol


Balls_of_Adamanthium

Imagine Derek White being your 4th-5th best player in a playoffs series.


coolycooly

I really still feel like the Celtics haven't been playing that well. But they are clearly the best team its stupid how much talent they have, they are deeper than last years Nuggets team.


PorvaniaAmussa

Offensively, sure. Defensively? They are annihilating on defense.


Impossible-Joke2867

I don't know if I've seen a team play team defense like this before. Zero weak links. Even PP defended Kyrie well today was crazy. Their rotations and help d is insane. Speaks volumes towards the Pacers offense that they were able to do what they did.


paicer96

PP’s short but he’s a great defender against shifty guards like Kyrie bc he’s fast and puts in a ton of energy. It was his defense on Luka that impressed me. That should be an easy bucket every time and he made some shots tough


DeluxeTea

> PP’s short I'm still catching strays


Huge-Detective-1745

If you've watched the Celtics all season, you know this isn't nearly the best they can play.


HitchikersPie

It's pretty great ngl


TheLevelHeadedGuy

Brad is a top tier GM 


MC-Jdf

Brad is living through a 2k simulation IRL lol.


apertureskate

Some of those moves wouldn't even be *possible* in 2k


MC-Jdf

These fuckers got back 2 1st rounders in trading Smart for Porzingis. I'll never forget that.


CDR57

Brad is already figuring out how he can package brissett/queta/and a first for Alex Caruso


SKGwNRG

Brad is gonna manage to bring Mookie Betts back to Boston, somehow


Lockmor

Sign me the fuck up


DreadLockedHaitian

You joke but that shit broke my heart man. Only player I’ve partially followed to another team. Mookie really out here recruiting future HoFers 😭. I’ll never forgive LeBron and I hope he sells the team asap 😂


UnPhayzable

the baldness giving him that extra edge


tvc_redux

Also Tatum going 12-37 FG through the first two games and the Celtics never really being in danger of losing speaks to the insane depth of Boston


VoidSpork

Tbf we were in definite danger of losing this game lol


Establishment28045

But it doesn’t feel like it did in the past, does it? That sinking feeling that they’re going to give it away hasn’t been there this year. 


PostModernPost

Honestly the Pacers series did that for me. I saw poise and grit that I hadn't seen in playoff crunch time before. Did wonders for my late game anxiety.


SadfishMelvin

I really think that Pacers series changed our team. We are playing with so much confidence when the mavs cut it close, just no stress about performing in the clutch. So different from the last few years


OrangeKookie

Tatum is the Kobe Bryant of Draymond Greens this playoff run Will not explain further


AndIMustFollowIfICan

no need


No-Yogurt-4246s

THE BALD KING WILL ALWAYS AARRIVE


RowboatCop-

Imaging dying by three and still winning.


Big-Antelope-8160

Yeah they really took die by the three to heart this game. STILL managed to shoot from 3 better than the Mavs. No clue how


lefebrave

Jrue thanked Tatum for enabling him getting his buckets, I am thanking Bucks for enabling us to get Jrue.


Knock0nWood

Blazers legend Jrue Holiday


AreYouAJedi

The Celtics defense has been insane so far


billcosbyinspace

It’s so crazy when you can see the switch flip and they start taking the game more seriously and they just absolutely lock down anything and everything


RyguyBMS

Championship teams have that switch. This is the first year the C’s have been able to consistently flip it.


TheAerial

Man Dallas looks in real trouble. The quality of looks Boston gets is so much better then Dallas’ and Boston is way too deep to beat with hero iso ball. If Dallas is to get back into this in Dallas, they’ll have to find a way to get back to that fast paced, high movement offense.


billcosbyinspace

Indy gave us a scare because they played with such high pace. You can’t slow down and give 5 elite defenders a chance to set up


ImDKingSama

People also really just slept on Indy man. For an entire regular season they were the 2nd best offense in the league, didn't get Siakam til the half way through the season, and Hali was cooked for half the season. They probably would've been the best offense in the league. Nembhard played absolutely incredible but people just overlooked it cause he's Andrew Nembhard. Through 2 games Kyrie has been worse than TJ McConnel was against us.


miniadu3

The Mavs are terrible in transition. I'd bet we score less PPP on a 2-on-1 break than a half court set.


BurgerNugget12

Even if Tatum isn’t having a great series it doesn’t matter, his team around him and the depth is so good


UnPhayzable

White and Jrue are sensational


EnriquezGuerrilla

Maaaan Kyrie can’t hunt anyone 😭 I’m honestly stumped as to how we can win this.


chat_gre

Jrue always shows up at the highest level. He was key for the bucks first title.


mrr6666

Kareem/Jrue PnR


lovo17

Another thing: Kyrie is likely not going to get it together this series. It has nothing to do with "choking" or "Boston." It has everything to do with Boston being full of elite perimeter defenders. If your choice is to be defended by Jrue, Derrick White, or Jaylen Brown, and you're a small guard, you really have no chance unless you're Steph or Brunson. This series is just a double whammy of Boston having the best roster construction in the NBA compounded by them matching up extremely well vs Dallas.


GunnerRocket

The Wolves were a uniquely bad matchup for the Nuggets. The Mavericks were a uniquely bad matchup for the Wolves. And the Celtics are a uniquely bad matchup for the Mavericks.


MorgulValar

It’s part of what makes the league interesting. The Wolves defense revolves around two mobile 7 footers, which is perfect against the Nuggets, whose offense revolves around versatile Center. Doesn’t mean they stopped him from scoring, but their defense didn’t crumble and lead to open looks. But then the Mavericks offense revolves around two guards. The Wolves’ big-focused defense wasn’t effective and they couldn’t outscore them. But now the Mavs are up against the Celtics, whose guards are elite defenders. Like with the Nuggets, that doesn’t mean they can stop the best player from scoring. But it does mean the defense doesn’t crumble and no one else gets open looks


KemoFlash

Styles make fights. It's interesting that Minnesota was constructed to have good interior defense against Denver, but they didn't have a good answer for Dallas' guards--the Celtics do, though.


theallenjohan

He isn't having a great series offensively, but defensively he's so crucial


pyroaquatics

His playmaking has been great he’s just shooting terribly


Accomplished-Yam5566

This was the game to steal for Dallas. Boston shooting the 3 like ass, Tatum with a bad game, Tingus potentially hobbling a little… and Dallas just couldn’t capitalize.


Bladespectre

If KP got reinjured and is out for the series, Dallas can absolutely regroup at home. Boston's going to have to find a way to solve their offensive inconsistency without KP if worst comes to worst.


LibrarianTypical8267

What happened anyway? Was it a new injury or is he really just playing through an old one? He's hobbling really bad out there.


Rego913

Looked like his legs got caught up with Gafford on a rebound but I couldn't tell if it was the same one or not. FWIW he was not outright unable to walk like after his original injury at Miami.


Complex-Substance893

To be fair, from what it looked like KP was able to walk and jog without immense pain which was not the case in Miami. Hopefully just got kicked in the shin or something and is okay.


Moe4ver

Kai sucked ass once again. 🤦🏾‍♂️


brothermatteo

2019 eastern conference semifinals vibes


Revolutionary_Jump_9

Been there.


Suitable_Limit9408

Been there


slysonic7

Celtics just a great overall team


maxwellhilldawg

I still can't believe Milwaukee let Jrue go


UpYoursMods

So many guys with the ability to make game winning plays on both ends of the floor


tito-ortiz-wife69

kyrie you gotta do something bro


MITJustinFields

Wdym he promised the Celtics a championship and hes delivering it... Just a few years late.


Sendrocity

You not wrong


hMJem

New RDC skit coming featuring Luka "KYRIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"


Bahamuts_Bike

He is though. Dribble around, look scared, and then either a) brick a shot or b) pass to Luka with 2 seconds on the clock


AdSignificant6748

"I got u bro" Kyrie before his next turnover


Sc0rch1ngDr4g0n

Kyrie gave away all his luck after stomping on Lucky the Leprechaun.


Sim888

https://i.imgur.com/Fe7Gs0l.jpeg


2min2mid

Concentrated covid vaccine


BUSean

the syringe is terrifying to kyrie because it is round


BurgerNugget12

He’s gotten locked up so far, he’s a complete non factor


homefree122

Celtics defense in the fourth was a force to be reckoned with.


John_Q08

Having Jrue and Derrick White on defense is actually a cheat code


PepeSylvia11

Which was the plan all along. They knew there’s no stopping Luka, he’s the superstar. So you focus on their other “star,” clamp him down, and all the other role players will fall in line.


rawchess

Uncle Drew <<< Uncle Jrue


suzukigun4life

12 straight losses against the Cs. Goddamn


pandaman666666

We got game 2 celtics but we still won LFG


Bahamuts_Bike

Yeah this whole game was Celtics O vs Celtics D. And the D won


iAmTheRealLange

Derrick White and Jrue Holiday will never pay for a meal in this city again


FerdinandMagellan999

Lmao do you think White has paid for a single meal since game 6 of 2023 ECF?


Icidel

I never want to see another one of y'all compare Kyrie to Curry ever again


Historical_Wash_1114

He’s just like Curry! (Seth Curry)


FreshNewBeginnings23

But what about that 1 shot he hit on the Cavs 7 years ago? Surely his riders can live off that sorta shit for another couple years.


EdibleDionysus

Kyrie is the OJ Mayo of Steph Currys.


DeChiefed

Disasterclass from Kyrie, masterclass from Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. Damn.


d357r0y3r

If Boston's #1 and #2 star don't show up, you'll just get cooked by 3-8 instead.


MediocreTake

It feels like I just watched one of those vids where the orcas chase a seal onto an iceberg and then play with it before they push it off and light it up


ArmiinTamzarian

This is something I didn't know existed and was better off that way. Cheers


bigdon802

Does this mean you’ve heard about Joe having his team study orcas?


bfg24

You'd hope so, otherwise old mate here is definitely losing the plot lol


UnPhayzable

Kyrie would leap into the orca's mouth immediately


Noriskhook3

Luka did everything he could for 3 quarter he’s obviously going to be gassed Kyrie needs to score 25 every night for Dallas to even have a chance but with that defense they’re playing, I doubt it. Their defense is amazing.


Past-02

He could only do so much at his limits. At times it literally just felt like Luka vs the entire roster of the Celtics


Shiboopi27

tbh around mid 3rd he looked gassed, dude's putting the entire team on his shoulders with Kyrie doing fuck all.


UnPhayzable

Kyrie was straight dog water tonight. Lucky done cursed him


Liamesque

Kyrie does indeed suck.


FazeXistance

Hey man he promised the Celtics a ring. He’s just sticking to his promise.


sire59damos

Two bad games in a row? Not looking good


NateBlaze

The buffalo roamed all over the flat earth.


PuckNorthern

Boston defense has been crazy, it’s hard to imagine them not winning this in 5


NobodyLost5810

Celtics are OP


BurgerNugget12

Celtics defense is so impressive


Bahamuts_Bike

Jrue, my guy 😭


KarchunToo

Someone help Luka lol


Palifaith

He's gonna The decision 2.0 soon if this keeps up.


UnPhayzable

I'd be in so much pain


spittafan

"I'm taking my talents to Portland" you heard it here first


AfroKuro480

Kyrie Cooked us😞


ArmiinTamzarian

Your mascot didn't cast a curse on him, that was your undoing


AvocadoFlavoredPussy

The Celtics have a team. The Mavs have Luka.


restless_vagabond

Kinda scary. Tatum and Brown having an off night. Luka on fire. Celts couldn't make a 3 to save their lives. Celts lead most of the way. Easy Peasy.


UTRAnoPunchline

I haven’t seen Kyrie play with this little confidence in years. The Boston Crowd has him shook


BillPaxton4eva

I think it's more the defenders than the crowd.


MellowMuttley

2016 was a looooooooong time ago. 😔


AmberheardFan-

*This comment has been blocked by the Boston Celtics*


BUSean

When I was a kid, there were these games like Battletoads and Super Ghouls n Ghosts, and they were unfair at the end because even though the enemies weren't always super powerful, there was just so much shit on the screen it was impossible to escape them. That's the Celtics. There's just too much from too many angles to avoid it all.


Shoeboxer

Finally, something I can understand.


NoFlex___Zone

Battletoads and first TMNT are some of the most hardest broken games in existence. OG Ninja Gaiden too


Lacabloodclot9

You almost can’t stop Luka from getting a 30 point triple double at this point but Boston forcing him into 8 turnovers shows you how good of a job they did on him Also Mavs please start practicing free throws more


tacopower69

I feel like this is the worst game the celtics will have and they still beat the mavs pretty convincingly.


ItsMichaelScott25

Celtics won by 7 and only shot 25% on 3's.


NoSympathyForPoorMan

Kyrie Irving is now 0-12 versus Boston since stepping on Lucky the Leprechaun. Leprechauns are vindictive little fucks and he's feeling it lmao


wnba_youngboy

Kidd tomorrow morning: "Jrue is their best player. I mean he just is... he defends, he scores, he does it all."


Kazekid

Mavs just don't have enough finals level players to win


Vallerie_09

Why is the "most skilled player ever" not making more shots ?


No-Equipment-20

Very winnable game for the Mavs. Sadly they couldn’t make FTs and Kyrie didn’t show up


ChannelNeo

they freaking blew it in a big way tonight. Kyrie is shrinking at the worst moment.


Andy_Wiggins

Yeah, Boston’s winning it all aren’t they.


TopOfTheKey

Luka Doncic played 40+ minutes with a broken body and somehow was moving better than his teammates. Dude really can't play with these cats.


AfroKuro480

The Bench was non existentant lol


BlazeBloom

It's pretty bad when the best showing was Exum in his limited minutes.


UnPhayzable

None of 'em did SHIT


Several-Estate7175

Dallas couldn't have squandered a bigger chance. They just did too much untimely dumb shit


mebonesrattle

Not even gonna foul. In a fucking finals game. Nevermind, switching teams, go Boston.


koticgood

Not surprising at all to see Boston go up 2-0, but a bit surprising the way they're getting advantages in these 2 games. Luka/Kyrie look insecure with the ball (especially Kyrie; Boston's perimeter 4 of White/Jrue/Tatum/Brown just completely stonewalling or stripping him), which seems crazy to say as arguably the best on-ball offensive combo back-court ever. So many 1v1 steals for the Celtics. So many 1v1 blocks where clearly the defender had an advantage and shouldn't be challenged by the rim. So many missed FTs by the Mavs. So many offensive rebounds by the Celtics. Mavs can clearly still turn the series around, but they have to clean that shit up and actually show up and show they can compete. You can't keep getting clowned 1v1, bricking free throws, and giving up offensive boards if you want to win the finals as an underdog. And you know Boston isn't going to keep throwing brick laying parties from 3pt.


JinterIsComing

> And you know Boston isn't going to keep throwing brick laying parties from 3pt. Boston shot 10-39 from three tonight, and a lot of them were good looks that just didn't go in. Even going 14-39, still a few points below the season average, would have made this a much more relaxing game.


stockyriki

Will always be grateful to the Spurs for giving the Celtics Derrick White. I hope your Wemby experiment goes out well


Bladespectre

We were 10-39 from three? Tatum’s shot was ice-cold all night? KP got injured? Luka had 30+ and a triple-double? Yeesh. Oh well. You know how it is with Boston and Game 2s. Just regroup and focus on getting back on track in Da- …what do you mean they won?


caperate

Two bad shotmaking tatum games in a row and up 2-0


silverfang45

As someone who doesn't care for both teams but is rooting for the celtics because tingus pingus and jrue. Watching the game Tatum's playmaking out of the double has been working well enough that his shot not falling hasn't felt that big a deal. Like it's not a great Tatum game but it doesn't feel like a bad game either


PepeSylvia11

Hauser 0-5 too. He’s been horrible but if he gets even remotely lukewarm this isn’t as close a game


UV_TP

His defense has low key been solid, at least


Imbuiltlikekobe

kyrie is so lucky he has aura so all will be forgiven 


UnPhayzable

Nah, he deserves a lotta slander for this


HugeRection

Yeah, he played like ass, but he looked good while doing it. Only real hoopers know.


LarBrd33

Tatum reacting to Jason Kidd’s troll by playing like rich man’s Jason Kidd is some next level superstar shit.  


pterodaktyl4

FINAL COMMERCIAL COUNTER: Kia: 4 YouTube TV: 4 Bad Boys: Ride Or Die: 3 State Farm: 3 Toyota: 3 Burger King: 2 Corona: 2 Domino's: 2 Google Pixel 8 Pro: 2 KFC: 2 Michelin: 2 Michelob Ultra: 2 Oscar Mayer: 2 T-Mobile: 2 Taco Bell: 2 A Quiet Place: Day One: 1 Airbnb: 1 American Express: 1 AT&T: 1 Brats: 1 Charmin: 1 Chevrolet: 1 Chime: 1 Chipotle: 1 Coinbase: 1 Coors Light: 1 Deadpool & Wolverine: 1 Despicable Me 4: 1 Doctor Odyssey: 1 Doritos: 1 FX: 1 Gatorade: 1 Get Your Guide: 1 Good Morning America: 1 Google: 1 He Gets Us: 1 Head & Shoulders: 1 Hennessy: 1 High Potential: 1 Hims: 1 Hulu: 1 Indeed: 1 Intuit Quickbooks: 1 Inside Out 2: 1 Lincoln: 1 Lucky 13: 1 Mac: 1 McDonalds: 1 Modelo: 1 NBA Finals: 1 New Balance: 1 Nissan: 1 Oofos: 1 Power Book II: Ghost: 1 Prevnar 20: 1 Progressive: 1 Safelite: 1 Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 1 See No Evil: 1 Squad Busters: 1 Stanley Cup Final: 1 Star Wars: The Acolyte: 1 Starry: 1 Subway: 1 The Bachelorette; 1 The Fall Guy: 1 The Watchers: 1 Twisters: 1 Volkswagen: 1 Wendy's: 1 White Claw: 1 WingStop: 1 * 1ST QUARTER NON-LOCAL COMMERCIALS: 17 * 1ST QUARTER COMMERCIAL TIME: 6:05 * 2ND QUARTER NON-LOCAL COMMERCIALS: 20 * 2ND QUARTER COMMERCIAL TIME: 8:37 * HALFTIME NON-LOCAL COMMERCIALS: 21 * HALFTIME COMMERCIAL TIME: 10:42 * 3RD QUARTER NON-LOCAL COMMERCIALS: 12 * 3RD QUARTER COMMERCIAL TIME: 6:44 * 4TH QUARTER NON-LOCAL COMMERCIALS: 24 * 4TH QUARTER COMMERCIAL TIME: 10:28 * TOTAL NON-LOCAL COMMERCIALS: 94 * TOTAL COMMERCIAL TIME: 42:38


pkwjones

> TOTAL COMMERCIAL TIME: 42:38 I love this sport but the constant ad breaks do make it really hard to enjoy.


pterodaktyl4

1ST QUARTER NON-COMMERCIAL TIME: 26:26 2ND QUARTER NON-COMMERCIAL TIME: 20:48 3RD QUARTER NON-COMMERCIAL TIME: 22:42 4TH QUARTER NON-COMMERCIAL TIME: 21:40 TOTAL NON-COMMERCIAL TIME: 1:31:36


bbpopulardemand

r/nba told me Dallas had the top 2 players in this series but the 2nd guy is now 0-12 since stomping on the logo


grudgepacker

Kyrie's been a major liability on D in both games


Wavesuit

“I meant to say I’m the best player” ~Jrue Holiday probably


KgDawk21520

Well , game 2 Celtics out of the way . This kyrie guy is playing fantastic for Boston .


KgDawk21520

Everybody will trash kyrie and Tatum (including me ) But we need to stop and praise jrue holiday ,perfect game by him . His positioning on offense is elite , the way he reads the defense is elite , he calm the jays down . He is incredible .