Yahoo Sports Senior NBA Reporter Vincent Goodwill and NBA Contributor Tom Haberstroh discuss which NBA Finals duo will have the edge, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the Boston Celtics? Or Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for the Dallas Mavericks? Listen to the full conversation about “Good Word with Good Will” – part of the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video transcript
Would you have more confidence in Luka Danic Kyrie Irving in clutch situations than anyone on the Celtics like Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown?
Would you pick these two guys easily?
Right.
And in the postseason, um, I feel like the Boston Celtics are in danger of being the Utah Jazz, where they have two great players who always run into a buzzsaw.
But the problem is that everyone seems to beat the Boston Celtics when it comes to winning the overall championship instead of the Utah Jazz taking on Michael Jordan and the Bulls.
This is a situation where perhaps the Boston Celtics will stick together with John Stockton and Karl Malone.
But, um, right now I’m picking the Dallas Mavericks and I feel pretty good about that because of their lack of clutch performance.
Yes, it’s been good, but it’s been good on the B teams, right?
And secondly, when we, when we talk about, uh, the strength of the schedule, I have much better feelings about the Dallas Mavericks.
They have been tested, they have a champion on their side in Kyrie Irving.
Um, and I feel like when you look at the Boston Celtics, the pressure is on them and Jason Tatum isn’t, how can I say that?
He is not an explosive athlete that you can ignore.
You get to the bucket and you know, it sinks in you, right.
Jalen Brown is a better athlete.
I’m not saying either of them are a bad athlete, but I’m saying if Anthony Edwards is the line for athletics, as far as you get to the bucket, get it, get a bucket.
Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown are steps behind that.
Do you know what I mean?
Like there are levels behind it and if your offense, your offensive system is not creating offense for you, then you need to be able to do something on your own.
And that’s my fear for the Celtics: How are you going to create shots that aren’t hitting, shoot three-pointers that aren’t, we’re just going to hang around the perimeter and create a shift and see what happens there.
That to me will be their undoing if it happens, if it’s close.
I just, I, it’s weird to me.
A very strange team and you can change the point guard, you can change the coach, you can change all these other different parts, but it doesn’t really fix anything.
You’re just a really good team that could make it to the final but won’t win.
And then, watching last week, when Boston sweeps Dallas or something, we have to sit here and eat crow.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, be careful and say all this, like, Boston is going to pass over Dallas and we have to sit down somewhere and think, well, I guess we were wrong.
