Mavs' Kyrie Irving Praises Celtics' Roster Moves, Sees NBA Championship Potential

Mavs superstar Kyrie Irving offered an intriguing perspective on the Celtics' readiness to compete for an NBA championship this season.

DALLAS — Following a 119-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, the Boston Celtics improved to 34-10. No team in the league has been more successful as it aims to pull off a successful NBA Finals run — something they've come close to doing in the Jayson Tatum era but have yet to accomplish. 

Kyrie Irving has played for and competed against no shortage of dynamic teams in his 12-year career, including winning the 2016 NBA Finals as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James. Despite not seeing the Celtics' full team as Kristaps Porzingis was out due to right knee inflammation, Irving sees a team that made the right offseason moves to get "over that hump" as a title threat. 

"We didn't get to see their full team tonight like we saw against Denver, but I have to give them credit, man," Irving said. "They have done incredibly well this season and finished last season pretty strong and making some changes, making some trades. And you can tell they found their chemistry. They found the guys that are going to get them over that hump."

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Irving, who finished with 23 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 36 minutes, admitted that spraining his thumb early in the game impacted his aggression throughout the night. He felt the Mavs had a real chance to get the job done against the Celtics, 

"Tonight, we went against an offensive juggernaut," Irving said. "I feel like we held them to some pretty good percentages, just didn't succeed in that second half where we had a chance to secure the lead or at least get closer than we were."

The Celtics were focused on making the Mavs play isolation basketball by utilizing their defensive versatility with switch defenders, particularly by neutralizing pick-and-roll with a wing guarding Dereck Lively II to make the switch. At the same time, a center was often pre-rotated in the paint off of Derrick Jones Jr. It made operating more challenging for Luka Doncic since he often could not play pick-and-roll or have as much space to attack.

"It's not easy at all. That's why I think they're number two or three in the NBA," Doncic said. "I mean, it's very tough. That's why they're number one in the NBA. They're very good in defense, and obviously, they're very good in offense. So it's very tough to face them."

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With an upcoming matchup against the Celtics on March 1, Irving looks forward to competing against them again — giving the Mavs another chance to measure how they fare against arguably the NBA's best team.

"Who knows what will happen down the next few months, but I wish them well," Irving said. "And I know we see them in the next month or two. I'm looking forward to it."