Citing glowing Jerry West's example, Stephen A. Smith calls out Kyrie Irving's 'lackluster' NBA Finals
It's not a secret that Kyrie Irving has been scarce in the first two games of the 2024 NBA Finals. The veteran guard was having a terrific postseason, but as soon as the Boston Celtics showed up, his production dropped, leaving Luka Doncic as the only hope the Mavericks have to beat the C's.
Stephen A. Smith discussed the situation in today's edition of ESPN's First Take. He called out Kyrie Irving for his performance in the biggest series of all and used Jerry West as an example for the former Cleveland Cavaliers champion.
"You cannot make that argument when Kyrie is playing the way he's playing in this Finals," Smith responded to a fan asking if Irving and Doncic are an all-time great backcourt even without the title. "If he and Luka are spectacular and let's say, hypothetically, their greatness displayed, warrants the kind of a claim similar to a guy of Jerry West.
"If it warrants the level of consideration that he received when he was the MVP in a losing effort, then you can possibly have those discussions," Smith said.
The veteran analyst then explained why the Doncic-Irving duo may be excluded from these conversations, blaming Irving's poor play against the Celtics so far in the Finals.
"But when you're losing and one of your primary individuals is a big-time reason as to why those results are occurring, you don't get to have that kind of conversation.
"The way Kyrie Irving has looked over the first two games, you cannot have these kinds of conversations about them as a tandem right now, because Luka has been a one-man show and the Robin of that crew has not shown up."
Kyrie Irving takes the blame for the Mavericks' bad results to start the Finals
Ahead of Game 3 against the Celtics, Kyrie Irving shed light on his conversations with Luka Doncic, admitting that he hasn't performed to the desired level and will try to change that when the team returns home for tonight's game.
"It all started with me. Just telling my hermano, I gotta play better for him alongside him, and you know in order for us to accomplish our goal ... just letting him know it is my fault, taking accountability for not playing particularly well," Irving said.
Irving is still a top talent in the league, but he must show it now or the Celtics will take advantage to overcome the Mavericks quickly.