Celtics’ Jrue Holiday Reveals Bold Strategy to Contain Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving in NBA Finals
As the NBA Finals loom, the spotlight intensifies on the matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks. A key subplot is a defensive strategy aimed at containing the dynamic Mavericks’ guard, Kyrie Irving. Celtics’ guard Jrue Holiday recently shared his candid thoughts on how to approach this formidable challenge, offering insight into the team’s mindset heading into the series.
All Irving did was drop 30 points on 12-for-23 shooting in Game 1 as the Mavericks threw the first punch with a road win in Minnesota. Afterward, Irving said that he used Edwards’ words “as motivation” heading into the matchup, and the eight-time All-Star finished the five-game series with averages of 27 points, five assists, and four rebounds on 49/38/81 shooting splits.
Jrue Holiday’s Insight: Strategies Against Irving
So it makes sense that, on the eve of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday chose his words about Kyrie Irving very wisely. When asked what he could do to limit Irving in any way, Jrue Holiday gave a refreshingly honest one-word response before providing a bit more detail.
“Pray,” Jrue Holiday said with a slight grin. “I think it’s just familiarity, just, I think, knowing each other’s game, doing your best to stay in front of him — trying to take away the things that’ll probably hurt you the most. And then, probably most of all, having help. Him being able to see multiple guys on the court, making it look like it’s crowded, making shots as tough as possible even though he’s a tough shot-maker.”
Celtics’ Defensive Strategy
Arguably the best perimeter defender in the NBA, Holiday has made numerous high-stakes defensive plays over the course of his career — most recently a game-sealing steal against Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard in the Eastern Conference finals.
Even with that track record, Holiday isn’t brash enough to suggest that he alone can stop the man whom LeBron James just called “the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen.” Instead, Holiday accurately explained why it’s going to take a full team effort from the league’s second-ranked defense to keep Irving under wraps.
In two regular-season games against Boston this year (both Mavericks losses), Irving averaged 21 points and 2.5 assists on 18-for-43 (42%) shooting, including 4-of-14 (29%) from 3-point range. If Holiday and the Celtics can keep the dynamic guard around those figures during the Finals, they have to like their chances of winning their first title since 2008.