Mavericks Notes: Irving, Doncic, Kleber, Finals

Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving is ignoring “outside noise” in Boston and striving to dial in on winning his second NBA title, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.

“I don’t expect to be celebrated by everybody,” Irving said. “I’m going to, you know, still be aware that a lot of people want to see me fail. But again, I think I pay attention more to the way that I’m celebrated from people that love me unconditionally, and I go home and have a peace of mind.”

The eight-time All-Star spent two of those All-Star seasons with the Celtics — his now-Finals opponent — from 2017-19, before signing with the Nets in free agency on a maximum-salary deal. He eventually demanded a trade and was sent to the Mavericks in 2022/23. In Game 1 of this year’s Finals, Irving scored just 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the floor, posting a game-worst -19 plus-minus.

There’s more out of Dallas:

• Mavericks superstars Irving and Luka Doncic, who stamped their ticket to the Finals after averaging a combined 59.4 points and 12.8 assists per game during a dominant Western Conference Finals run, could become the league’s first billion-dollar backcourt, writes Lev Akabas of Sportico. Akabas notes that, by the end of their next, presumed maximum-salaried contracts, the dynamic duo could have earned in excess of a combined $1 billion on the hardwood. Doncic could net a projected five-year, $346MM maximum salary as a free agent in 2025, while Irving could earn a four-year, $243MM contract as a free agent next offseason if he declines his 2025/26 player option.
• Mavericks big man Maxi Kleber explained after a team practice Saturday how the team plans to slow down Kleber’s former Dallas teammate Kristaps Porzingis, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net. “We have got to make it a little bit harder on him to get the catches on the elbow,” Kleber opined. “Push out a little bit further and then just stay in front of him and make sure we contest a shot the best way possible. We definitely can’t let him get into rhythm early.” In Game 1, Porzingis had an instant impact off the bench, scoring 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor in just 20:34 of action.
• The Celtics came to play in Game 1, on one side of the floor in particular. Boston’s stifling defense limited the Mavericks to just nine assists as a team, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Doncic, who averaged 9.8 assists per game himself during the regular season, managed to dish out just one dime, against four turnovers. “We’ve got to move the ball,” head coach Jason Kidd said. “The ball just stuck too much. And we’ll be better in Game 2.”