Kyrie Irving Has To Be Better For The Dallas Mavericks in The NBA Finals, And He Knows It

The former Celtic struggled against his former team in Game 1 and knows he has to be better

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) reacts in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Arguably the biggest talking point heading into Game 1 of the NBA Finals was Kyrie Irving's return to Boston and how he'd handle it. He's stepped up throughout the season to be a great leader for the Dallas Mavericks and has done and said all the right things leading up to The Finals.

Boston fans let him know of their displeasure, booing him about every time he touched the basketball, loudly cheering when he'd miss a shot or turn the ball over, and he even egged the crowd on once or twice when they were chanting "Kyrie sucks!"

READ MORE: Luka Doncic Made NBA Finals History In Dallas Mavericks Game 1 Loss to Boston Celtics

Celtics fans chant “Kyrie sucks!” Irving hears it and pumps up the crowd wanting them to be louder. pic.twitter.com/EU42HdXp2K

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) June 7, 2024

Irving struggled to make an impact in Game 1 though, scoring just 12 points on 6/19 shooting with 3 turnovers and was outscored by P.J. Washington and Jaden Hardy. For Dallas to have a chance to win this series, Irving will have to be better and he knows that.

"We didn't perform the way we would've wanted to tonight. It starts with me," Irving said to the media following Game 1, "just being able to get out there and get us settled. Got to take some accountability for it, just the communication."

Irving was spectacular for Dallas in the Western Conference Finals against Minnesota, averaging 27 PPG with three games scoring 30+ points. Boston offers a different challenge with their array of wing defenders that can match up with Irving and Luka Doncic. Even with Boston's preference for playing 1-on-1 defense and switching all screens, they still had bodies waiting at the rim on drives, which caused Dallas' offense to look out of rhythm. If they can fix some of those mistakes and Irving reverts to playing how he did in the WCF, they'll give themselves a better chance in Game 2.

Boston's history with Kyrie Irving is well-documented and he's now 0-11 since he "stomped" on the Celtics' midcourt logo a few years ago. He played for the organization for two years and left a sour taste in their fans' mouths with a lot of them swearing he quit on the team. But this is a different Kyrie Irving.

He swears the crowd noise and their chants didn't affect his play, even going so far as to say he thought it would be louder in TD Garden, a bold claim given his performance in Game 1. If Kyrie Irving is going to back up any of that talk, he'll have to do it on the court, not in postgame media.

Game 2 will be Sunday at 7 p.m. CST in Boston.

READ MORE: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks Highlight Major Fixes for Game 2 Against Boston Celtics

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