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Good morning! Donât double-team Luka DonÄiÄ today.
Legacies: The deep history of these NBA Finals
The Athletic has live coverage of Celtics vs. Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals
This is the point in the playoffs where we talk about journeys. No matter who wins these NBA Finals, both the Mavericks and Celtics have been through much. Theyâve both played nearly 100 games, for one thing.
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Both sit on the precipice of NBA history. And while the stories of their seasons were rich, I canât help but focus on two players â the Mavericksâ Kyrie Irving and the Celticsâ Kristaps PorziĆÄŁis â and how their own histories play into this series. You wouldnât usually expect teams from Dallas and Boston to be this entwined already:
- Six years ago, Irving was supposedly the future of the Celtics franchise. Heâd leave on bad terms. But before that was Bostonâs 2017-18 playoff run, when Irving was not loathed â just injured. Two of his young teammates, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, led Boston on a shocking run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, where they nearly toppled prime LeBron James. Now, following a run to the 2022 NBA Finals and multiple conference finals appearances, the vision sparked by those former teammates of Irvingâs is almost realized.
- Five years ago, PorziĆÄŁis was supposed to be for Dallasâ Luka DonÄiÄ what Irving is now: a potent running mate. Instead, their styles clashed on the court, with PorziĆÄŁis becoming a liability on the offensive and defensive ends. He left Dallas in 2022 at a crossroads. The game demanded he adapt or get left behind. In Washington, he lost plenty of games but found a new ethos, as Jay King wrote in April. Now back from injury, his offensive playmaking could be Bostonâs difference against DonÄiÄâs Mavs. Juicy.
As for what is actually going to happen on the court, I asked our Mavs and Celtics writers, Tim Cato and Jared Weiss, what they think the one linchpin of this series is.
Hereâs Tim:
âBoston doesnât like to double team its opponents, but DonÄiÄ might force them into it. As good as these perimeter defenders are for Boston, heâll figure out which ones he wants to attack â and how â and itâll lead to buckets. If he can get Boston second-guessing its defensive identity, changing into unfamiliar defensive schemes because heâs so ruthless, thatâs a path to Dallas winning this series.â
And hereâs Jared:
âThe linchpin for this series, fittingly, is PorziĆÄŁis. He has been the edge for Boston all season, the mammoth shooter who allows them to always create advantages on offense while taking them away on defense. The Mavs will try to expose him in space to score on the Celtics defense. So if he can avoid those pitfalls, he can take away Dallasâ ever-dangerous alley-oops and force DonÄiÄ and Irving to beat the Celtics on their own.â
I am so excited for this series.
News to Know
OFFICIAL RELEASE: The College Football Playoff has announced dates, kick times and broadcast information for the 2024-25 playoff, the first year of the expanded 12-team format.
Read more » https://t.co/Ysq0kR5NfA#CFBPlayoff đđ pic.twitter.com/Lk6EqE37MM
â College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) June 5, 2024
The 12-team playoff is really here
There is something so tactile about seeing the new 12-team College Football Playoff schedule laid out neatly. This is quite real now, and instead of a two-week, three-game gambit, we are getting 11 games in a monthâs time, a stretch that also includes the NFL playoffs. I hope your family members will understand your priorities come December. See our full report on the schedule here.
Sky harassed outside hotel
Multiple Chicago Sky players reported the team was harassed outside its Washington D.C. hotel upon arrival last night. The Chicago Sun-Times reported a man targeted Chennedy Carter, whose hard foul on Caitlin Clark over the weekend sparked widespread outrage. See our full report on the troubling incident here. (Earlier in the day, the league rescinded one of two technical fouls called on Sky forward Angel Reese on Tuesday.)
More news
- Kyrie and LeBron James really miss each other, by the way.
- Colts center Ryan Kelly challenged NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to put on a helmet and âcome talk to meâ about an 18-game season.
- Premier League clubs are expected to reject a proposal that would abolish VAR. Replays for everyone.
- Could Conor McGregorâs long-awaited return to the UFC be in peril? The organization has stayed mum as doubts grow about UFC 303.
Tee Time: A 15-year-old in a PGA Tour event?
We have two golf items, one timely and one lookahead. Quickly, with the help of golf writer Brody Miller:
1. Iâm intrigued by this Justin Thomas redemption arc weâve seen since the Masters. Can he win this weekend at the Memorial?
Brody: The hardest thing about tracking Thomasâ arc is: Itâs changing every few weeks. His disastrous 2023 (not even making the FedEx Cup playoff!) was primarily about having a career-worst year from tee to green. Then, he had a great September-February before his putting fell off a cliff, as he missed three cuts in five tournaments. But all week at the PGA Championship, he kept repeating that his game feels really good. Credit to him going T-5, T-21 and T-8 at big-boy events since Augusta. Heâs definitely in the mix at the Memorial, where driving the ball well and accurately is everything. Itâs a big test for where he really stands.
2. It was announced yesterday that 15-year-old Miles Russell will play at the PGA Tourâs Rocket Mortgage Classic. Whatâs the scoop on this kid?
Brody: The weird thing about golf is youâre always hearing in the background about the ânext big thing.â Sometimes theyâre true, sometimes not. But lately, theyâre all breaking through. Ludvig Ă
berg went from college star to top-10 player in months. Nick Dunlap went from top junior to winning a PGA Tour event as an amateur. And now thereâs Russell, who at 15 was already getting whispered about as this incredible lefty racking up junior wins. But then he played a Korn Ferry Tour (basically pro golfâs second tier) in April and finished T-20, making him the youngest player to finish inside the top 25 in a PGA Tour or Korn Ferry event. Once again, the ânext big thingâ went from the background to possibly the real deal.
Watch This Game
NBA: Mavericks at Celtics
8:30 p.m. ET on ABC
Just turn it on.
WCWS: Texas vs. Oklahoma
8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
If you need a basketball break, head here. Oklahoma can win their fourth straight national title after blistering their rivals 8-3 in Game 1 last night.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
At the heart of this Mavericks run, though? General manager Nico Harrisonâs gutsy belief in a Kyrie Irving trade. Sam Amick reports out a great story on the Harrison-Irving relationship, a pair of men few expected to be here.
Mike Jones issued one pressing question to each new NFL defensive play caller. Honestly a fascinating class of new guys there.
Are the new NBA schedule and rules to blame for a slew of injuries for the leagueâs best players? Mike Vorkunov investigated.
MLB All-Star voting begins today. Jim Bowden has some early predictions on rosters.
Michael Salfino has an interesting look at why MLB fantasy owners need to add Jake Myers to their roster if he hasnât been snapped up already.
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The last days of Birmingham-Southernâs baseball program will become a documentary, as Kennington Smith III wrote. Itâs hard to not love this team.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The video of Lily Yohannesâ debut goal for USWNT on Tuesday. So good.
Most-read on the website yesterday: David Ornsteinâs story on James Maddison being left off Englandâs 2024 Euros squad. Surprising.
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(Photo: Brian Fluharty / Getty Images)
Chris Branch is a staff writer for The Athletic's daily newsletter. Before joining The Athletic, he covered the Phillies for The News-Journal and worked as a content strategist for various industries. He graduated from LSU, where he worked for The Daily Reveille. Follow Chris on Twitter @cbranch89