Stephen A.: Porzingis could be a significant piece to Celtics winning the NBA Finals! | First Take

Stephen A.: Porzingis could be a significant piece to Celtics winning the NBA Finals! | First Take

Stephen A tell me this do you feel like the Celtics can win the title if porzingis isn’t 100% I don’t think I don’t I don’t think they can win the title without him I’m not saying he has to be 100% but he’s got to be up there he’s got to be above 75% I think in order for them to beat the Dallas Mavericks team that we’ve seen in these playoffs this would the regular season come excuse me if this is a regular season coming into the postseason we would think a little bit differently based on what we’ve seen it’s not just about the greatness and the leadership of Kyrie Irving the obvious greatness of Luca it’s about Gafford it’s about Lively it’s about PJ Washington and dare I say even Derek Jones that I didn’t know could shoot threes until this year okay he’s hitting threes now and so when you look at the way the Dallas Mavericks are playing how in sync they are with one another you definitely need and and and again we wouldn’t be feeling this way if this were before the trading deadline before they got Gaff but to have that to go along with Lively is a huge huge deal the 37 38 year old Al Horford ain’t going to be enough to offset that Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown they can ball their stars in this league but the Rough Riders that you need to be somebody on your front line that’s not necessarily in their repertoire so I look at it from that standpoint and say that elevates the significance of a porzingis he is annoying me with those damn smirks and you know what that’s Chris porzingis that’s reserved for dudes who who’ve been here before you saying LeBron’s acting like that or whatever I’m good with it he’s a champion and he’s been the numerous 10 NBA Finals okay y behind this is new to you you a new beat okay you were with the Knicks it ain’t happen there don’t get me started of how things worked out in Dallas you meant nothing in in Washington even though you had good numbers because it was basketball Purgatory in the nation’s capital okay this the first time you’re on a stage where you’re actually relevant and that’s the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals and you giving that smirk and don’t want to give answers whatever your behind better be ready I tell you that much because the championship is at stake for the Boston Celtics I understand that might be new to Chris ABS porzingis but rather than smiling he needs to be locked in zero focused and making sure he’s doing everything he can to be ready because the Boston Celtics need him in order to beat the Dallas Mavericks without him at less than 80% you ain’t winning you ain’t beating Dallas yeah I I disagree with that Steve I really do uh I think porzingis would make it easier for him and I like to see him play too I mean this is his fourth team you know Jerry West played with two broken thumbs will played with the Tor ACL in the end in the playoffs bird had concussions he’s out there you go out there and you you got to give it a go here I mean at least OG did and Hart did in game seven so I like to see him play but I’m not ready to go as far as Steve says that he’s the Difference Maker they have excellent guards one of them holiday is going to handle Irving make it difficult for him Tatum should could be the second best player in this series after Luca you got brown who’s an excellent player Horford’s a good player Pritchard they got home court I understand Dallas had a tougher run in the west than they did but the Celtics are a solid favorite in this series with or without porzingis and I think that’s fair so I think Steve is wrong I don’t think they H I make it easier don’t get me wrong I’m not saying he wouldn’t help him but to say that they can’t beat the Dallas Mavericks without porzingis is a little strong it’s a little aggressive it’s a little aggressive you know the Celtics might agree with him because if you go back 12 months after Boston got PA for a second might agree with who you sir thank you very much than you Mr make it go ahead I want to make sure many times have the MS beat the Celtics excuse me how many times are the Mavs beat the Cel two zero in the regular season yeah is it the finals or the regular season I’m sorry you do know the difference when KY of show does know the difference between regular season and a final 10 straight losses 10 straight losses last won the playoffs when was the D I’m just saying I just I just want to make sure you knew the record by the way by the way where was where was Kyrie Irving doing eight of those losses I’m not sure I think Kyrie’s lost like 10 in a row to Boston that’s that’s what it was okay all right so last June when the celis got eliminated by the heat they made porzingis their number onea offseason priority he had a he had an option that he had to pick up before he got traded they had a three- team trade worked out with LA if fell apart and they had like 12 hours to put together another three- team trade and they scrambled because their number one priority was to get porzingis because they knew how important it is to have that kind of weapon was not just in a series against team like Dallas but particularly in a against a team like Dallas that has great centers one of the things that he does so well he shoots three-pointers from the top of the key I know that sounds like a basic thing he hasn’t he hasn’t just Corner shoot he shoots three-pointers from the top of the key they run pick and rolls with him at the top of the key that means if you’re going to guard him you got to be 20 to 23t from the basket that means those two centers in Dallas who love to protect that Rim you have to come out otherwise they’re handing him a free shot honestly I think this team’s better at lobs because donic is so incredible at throwing them you’re seven foot three he’s not going to totally shut off the lobs so I would say this I think just having him on the court is a huge difference maker I I kind of agree with you too though dog because even if he’s not 100% I still think he can make a big difference I don’t think he has to be 100% but he’s super duper important the Holiday trade was a bonus that wasn’t the primary focus of what the Celtics thought they needed they thought to win a series like this they needed porzingis and that’s why he’s got to be out there and he’s got to be a factor I don’t know if he’s got to average 20 and 15 but he’s got to be a factor well here’s the deal a couple of things I’m glad you brought that up because that’s a point that I wanted to make of course that’s one of the other reasons he’s important doggy because you pull Lively and Gafford away from the basket defensively okay not to mention the fact that he’s there to try to avoid some of those lobs here’s the challenge for for Boston with the lobs though unlike CP3 in Lob City where you’re in the open court see the point guard himself CP3 is out there and he’s lobing at to Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan in this case you got a guy in Luca that puts you on his hip and he manipulates you and he can get into the lane and as a result you as a big man is conflicted cuz do you go and help do you drop back to make sure you have you protect against the lob you don’t know and that Split Second that you’re hesitant is when Luca makes his decision and it’s usually an effective one okay you can’t if you don’t have anything to offset that there’s nothing you can do Al Horford is not going to get it done for you at age 38 on that level he’s not going to do that for you he might be able to make shots from three of course you can’t leave him open so I’ll give that but you could also get somebody to guard him when he’s away from the basket one of those bigs would have to be the ones that come out and guard zingas my issue and my hesitancy about Boston in this series is because when you talk to anybody who’s talked about porzingis injury they say it’s similar to what Kevin Durant suffered before coming back on the court in the finals and ultimately tearing his Achilles and go in the finals against Toronto that’s what they point to they also point to this they said even when healthy por zingis wasn’t a lateral mover that’s not his thing that’s not his strength and so Boston is susceptible to pick and rolls all day every day they bring this kind of stuff up how do you offset that more offense more offensive Firepower and shot blocking ability on the defensive side of the ball as well that’s what you have to do without porzingis you don’t have those weapons and I tell you something like that this wouldn’t even be a series if the Boston Celtics had a healthy porzingis and managed to keep Marcus Smart because that brother right there is somebody we don’t mention enough I understand that porzingis is is an upgrade because he’s 73 instead of 63 and I get it but make no mistake about it the heart and soul of that team in terms of their blood and guts was about Marcus Smart and now that you don’t have that in a series like this that even raises the stakes even more on the need doggy for porzingis well if they didn’t have they had marus smart they wouldn’t have holiday they wouldn’t have porzingis they traded for they but they wouldn’t have holiday either if they had smart because they wouldn’t need another guard that’s true so they wouldn’t have had either so if you’re asking me who’s a better player holiday or smart holiday is a better player than smart well well you say I’m saying but I understand I’m not questioning that that holiday is a better player I’m talking about what Boston needs in a series like this the defensive tenacity hardcore play Get Up In You grinding that whole stuff we know what holiday holidays ability brings to you but that it factor is required against the likes of Kyrie and Luca that’s required and if you don’t have that you going to have to offset it with Supreme Talent you need po zingis to do that now remember the guy in front of us here the wonderful Steve Steve Steven Smith Stephen A when they beat big Steve Denver in game one he had Minnesota winning an NBA champion that’s I did I did he was a little prisoner at the moment he got excited and when Oklahoma City won He was discussing how much he was going to enjoy so you ain’t been wrong by w huh yeah once you get the t- Wolves wrong and you did so you can’t jump on the team that beat him and you are jumping on Dallas right now that’s not the right thing to do let him take Dallas you want to know why cuz I’m taking the Celtics I’m I’m I’m I’m I’m just analyzing the series I haven’t made a pick yet we don’t know we don’t know about the health of poringa this what we’re talking about you’re not going to know what do you mean not make a pick you’re not going to know the game one I will before game one I haven’t made my de you can Waitz count but I’d like to get my pick on the record everyone heard that I’m not going to try to get a purse or anything because I’ve already taken too much money from everybody I just I just want I just want the bragging right how can we not hear Molly I mean of course speaking of piics yes what did I do in the conference final what with the big guy in Rapid oh Lord Dallas plus 163 against Minnesota wow and that was not for $100 wow wow well nice yes I’ll leave you with this Dallas has favorable odds in the finals they do I think it’s about the same and is like 163 it’s the first time an Eastern Conference team has been favored in the final since the heat in 2013 wow that’s a good even I I’ll make it even better for you only the third team this Century in the East to be favored the third team this centur how dominant the West is yes wow that’s a good job on your part it’s very hard to bet on an underdog from the Western Conference I’m just going to tell you that it’s hard it’s hard do I go back to Dallas again but I don’t want to be like him because he was I sat here and so did Molly and he was waxing poetic the greatest defense I’ve ever seen he Michael Jordan a lot of Michael there was a lot of MJ references their defense in the first half of game two and the second half of game seven is some of the best defense I’ve seen played in 30 years he was not alone SI your tea you’re from the islands we know you got a little Milk and Honey Island man yeah I know I know he [Music]

Stephen A.: Porzingis could be a significant piece to Celtics winning the NBA Finals! | First Take
On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Brian Windhorst debate whether the Boston Celtics can win the NBA title if Kristaps Porzingis isn’t 100% in the Finals.
#firsttake #nba #espn

0:00 Can the Celtics win the title if Porzingis isn’t 100%?
2:50 Mad Dog isn’t sure Porzingis will be a big difference maker in the Finals
4:20 Brian Windhorst says Porzingis could make a big difference even if he isn’t 100%
7:50 Stephen A. says the Celtics need Marcus Smart in this series

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