Mavs fall to Celtics in Game 3, Luka fouls out & will BOS complete sweep? | NBA | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Mavs fall to Celtics in Game 3, Luka fouls out & will BOS complete sweep? | NBA | FIRST THINGS FIRST

so dumb right again again three times in a row you guys are good sports uh welcome to the show that’s just continually right and I was telling you guys what I don’t even want to be right I I’d prefer if you were right and I was just the handsome host and that could go I could listen to you guys and be like wow interesting points but now the tables are turned I’m handsome and interesting what are you going to do now first things first what a today okay luuka to blame for the loss all right so Luca this guy is an offense unto himself who has never been good let alone great defensively sure who come the playoffs teams are more able to scheme it hunt him SK you know design their offense about getting him in switches getting him in the AC maybe getting him in foul trouble and it culminated in him losing his temper a bit in him getting frustrated and him fouling out of a critical game you Finals game mhm yes that is what happened last night with Luca and it is also what happened to Steph Curry eight years ago in game six now Luca didn’t throw his mouthpiece and no one in Luca’s family accused the league of being rigged but it all happened okay in a similar circumstance of this guy whose offense is what creates everything but defensively can be picked on at that point in Steph’s career more so than now sure and so heavy is the head that wears the metaphorical crown or the crown or whatever it is Luca needs to be better I and we will discuss later think he needs to be better offensively more than he needs to be better defensively because the Mavs are not losing this series because of defense they’re losing this series because of offense what is frustrating to me and I reached out to Wendy this morning cuz I adore him and I think he might be he’s certainly on the current Mount Rushmore of respected basketball voices sure I thought the table was set for feast on Luca day today in a way that was not fair to his performance or him fouling out because at the reason I brought up Steph was we have seen something incredibly similar now Steph had already won a championship which obviously buys you a lot I understand that and that was Steph’s game was to win a championship this was kind of to avoid losing a championship it’s not one to one but it is not unprecedented what we saw and I listen he needs to get back on defense that I had a big like the the yelling at the refs and then letting five on fours happen can’t happen in the NBA Finals I also think he gets a bad whistle but I think some of that is his own doing because refs are human and he is always going after him but but I but I don’t think he gets a good whistle befitting his status in the league and I don’t think we typically see a superstar get four fourth quarter fouls at least three of which were coin flip calls so I understand some of the frustration but yes he needs to be better is he the reason they lost no he’s the reason they’re there and he was the second best math yesterday he needs to be better but this whole let’s re-evaluate Luca donic today I think it’s too much I think it’s too much it’s not too much because this is what happens Jason Tatum has had to go through this and he’s not as good as Luca but LeBron James who’s better than Luca or in his prime has had to go through this this is what it is all right now I I’m going to address his def his defense is a atrocious his defense is atrocious and I know he gets some steals he’s leading the Mavs and steals now with almost two and a half a game but that’s not indicative of great defense you mentioned it Nick and here he is the complaining and the and the bad defense go to like here he is just not even running hard all right and and here he is after shot was awful I don’t even know if he got hit he falls he’s complaining they’re just running back you know scoring as he’s sitting there now now he gets there and then here’s another one again I I don’t even think he got hit he’s trying to buy a call and he’s just sitting there he’s the last man back or supposed to be but because he fell Jason Tatum’s there all alone and gets a dunk so the defense is bad and I saw on second Spectrum this morning the blow buys are crazy the blow buys are not crazy they’re historically crazy all right 67% of the their Drive they’re blowing by him 67% of the time which is the most of any player in the last 10 years of the postseason 10 years all right so the defense is bad and you mentioned it the complaining we know NBA players are notorious for complaining to the ref but Luca is off the charts in it he’s got to get better at that but to say to even hint that he is the reason they lost this game or are down 3 0 in this series is insane thank you thank you’re only there because of Luke no you they are a two and sometimes One Man team that’s what they are and we are are being exposed for that right now some of that is Personnel some of that is the way they play their style their scheme but they’re a one or a twom man team when Kyrie’s got it going all right and Luca Don is that team even last night Nick even last night when he had a bad game right he had a plus nine of plus n so that’s all right no other no other Maverick uh starter Had A positive plus n so let’s can I because just real quick I I just want to dive into that because that is my other frustration is I am not acting as if the guy is beyond reproach and to your point when you are playing for the stakes of is he going to be the best player in the world you are obviously held to a very high standard but someone explained to me that in that game last night the 38 minutes Luca donic was on the court the Mavs won by nine yes the 10 minutes he sat they lost by 16 now that is an argument as to why he can’t foul out that that part is totally fair but that the idea The Narrative today has been you can’t win because of his defensive deficiencies which does not square with the fact when he plays you won at last night if what we’re talking about and I and we can talk about those the other numbers later the problem for the Mavs has been their offense to my eye and to the data I feel but I feel like go check this out we talked about the plus minus last night only one with a positive plus this is for the series he’s a minus four every other math is Washington’s Clos is at minus 13 the rest of them are in thetive 20s I think Tim Hardway Junior’s infinite right now in six minutes yeah I mean these are just the guys that are getting decent minutes and so again so you want it is a brid too far is it Daniel gafford’s fault no no my point is it’s like saying Michael Jackson is the problem with the Jackson Five I mean really Luca donic is the team with all due respect to Kyrie Irving okay he’s the team so to say he’s the reason they’re down three 0 he’s the reason that they lost last night we showed you the plus minus it’s crazy so you go Wilds please I mean you guys made Fair points but I I mean whose fault is it are we giving the are we giving the self I they win he didn’t he had we not saying he was perfect and yes he can bear some blame but other even Kyrie in 35 game was a minus three the guy he’s on a doer I mean I feel like we’re we’re just brushing past the idea that he is in a Do or Die game the Mavs are on a on a crazy run and instead of playing defense he decides to try to take a charge and it’s his second foul in the last I think 30 302 seconds and loses the game and I don’t think that’s just one data point I think that’s a pretty big decision that he made and he lost I think this is the issue we’re saying I’m certainly saying he he’s to blame for some stuff last night he didn’t play great and you can have at him but my my contention is with the notion that he’s the reason they lost that that’s where I’m at like come what are we talking about so I would say I mean I would say he’s the reason they lost they wouldn’t have been close if it wasn’t for him okay but why did they lose what they were on a they were on a little how about somebody else SC they’re on a crazy comeback Luka then makes a silly foul and leaves the game in the there’s no comeback without Luka I mean I guess so you guess I mean that that’s maybe they won I don’t know I’m lost it’s not Luca’s fault he’s about to get swept he’s an all time great player the greatest back court of all time the Celtics are no good the Celtics has an even second he’s about to get swept out of the finals and I’ve had to sit here and say how good Luca is had to bend the knee in Luca oh he’s better than Giannis he’s better than Joker the Celtics are frauds the Celtics don’t have depth and all of a sudden it’s like oh my God it’s not Luca’s fault it’s everyone else’s fault hold on hold on Wilds I I will I will respond to all the points you made but seven of them are raw men I don’t I’m going I’ll go through them who called the Celtics frauds who said they were frauds why I say they have historically great yeah they they are on a historically great r no they’re not no no so so right so it is not a straw man to say we doubted that this was an alltime great team okay and but the gap between alltime great team is frauds that’s first thing second thing who on this show said this is the best back court of all time or did Brew give list explaining to five offensive back we done several based on if they win correct we could pull up the the graphic what you guys picked that they were going to win yes so I’m not allowed to make that LE no no why they’re going to win we both think they’re going to win second best would when they win they will be the second best yes wait a second you said best let me let me I’m just saying let me respond to all of it Luca leaping Giannis and Joker was predicated on winning the title K brew having back court at second was predicated on winning the title if you want and I I think we’re going to get to it to have the discussion of did I did Brew did America at large did you until six days ago underrate the Celtics we can have that discussion CU I think that answer is yes my major push back if I can show it quickly is I think the Luca should be criticized more for not crushing on offense than the defense because if you went into these finals and said Boston’s never going to crack 108 how’s it going to be well let’s look at what it was this season first of all it only happened to him 12 times all year they averaged 120 this team was 60 and8 when they scored 108 and 4-8 when they didn’t they’re 3 and0 in the finals so it’s the Dallas offense that is abandoning them why well if I told you going into the series Dallas would never hit 10 threes what chances would they have well in the regular season they were brutal but again it happened 11 of 82 games in this finals it’s happened three of three so I am all here for you know what I think a flaw I had was overweighting the import of your single best player and underweighting the value of five top guys in the league right now whatever it is top guys good argument that that’s the way it goes historically right and so but what I what I think I I think sometimes Sports media can be moths to a flame on a topic and the reason that I was so frustrated with Wendy eviscerating Luca in front of millions of people is to me it gave a signal of the maybe the smartest guy cover in the league maybe the most in plugging guy cover in the league is saying it’s on him and I’m not saying that’s an invalid opinion it’s just not one I share I don’t think he’s a perfect player and I don’t think he is eligible for best player alive discussion anymore I don’t I think that he had to win the title in order to make it a discussion with Joker but I think the idea that the stuff Luca is bad at is so glaring yeah that I think it is being discussed as if the Mavs are losing these games 125 120 and it’s because Tatum or J but the games are close no but my point is criticism because they’re so close but but they can’t I don’t know what more he now I’m going to talk a little bit I mean you could talk about stylistic changes with the way he plays offense but as far as this is how they’ve played his entire career I mean he’s averaging what 28 29 and and you know nine boards and six assists I don’t know how much more he can do this is a phenomenal defense and and Kyrie was not was the one Mia in the first two games not Luca can I make one more point before we move on yeah it’s just about Wendy and we both we all know windhorse his he has informed opinions and what he put out was more of an opinion this is what he wrote uh Lucas’s performance no one can tell donic anything not teammates not coaches not Executives not media not fans Not referees there have been a lot of pleas and promises that he’ll improve but this one is going to leave a mark so I felt like what Wendy was doing yesterday was not just popping off but he was taking you know a wealth of like reporting where all these guys have said hey man you for you to get to the next level you have to stop complaining you have to lock down on defense and you know be a little bit I don’t want to say unselfish but a I don’t know try harder I guess no he listen he’s he’s not in the physical shape he should be in he’s hurt that’s no yeah so so the blowby thing to me you’re out there you’re accountable and can I ask an on the-fly question and can we do the underestimated the Celtics instead of the Tatum things we only have time for one more thing uh but just real quick the the i i you’re out there you’re accountable I think part of the blow buys is the fact that he is I think the injury makes sense it would affect you more on defense because that is reactionary rather than you choosing where you go I thought your Tweet yesterday about how he F out I felt that was on Fair where you’re saying instead of playing defense he tries to draw a charge that is playing defense it was dumb the risk wasn’t worth the reward but I think in that spot he knew I’m I am not going to be able to was it Tatum or brown I’m not if if I’m he’s going to go by me right now he was trying that way he was trying he wasn’t good enough at it he is not a perfect player but the narrative that Lucas defense is why they’re down 03 I think is lied by the facts they’re down 03 cuz they can’t score and Luca’s job is to do more scoring that’s why I say he needs to do better but also you got to have some people hit threes and that’s where the role players are in the finals not shocking let down will give this too it is rare for a superstar to foul out period but let alone in the finals game and I don’t mean he wasn’t fouling guys there have been other superstars to foul usually takes and they don’t get right you get you usually get stuff like that when you’re a superstar his fifth foul was very questionable uh so I mean look but there’s no defending that defense okay statistics are overwhelming Celtics now on the doorstep of being the 10th team to sweep the finals they’d be the first team to sweep the Conference Finals and the finals here’s best single uh best record in a single postseason if the Celtics close out uh tomorrow it’d be 16-2 with some legendary teams right uh Nick are you ready to admit that you and Brew underestimated the Celtics you can answer for yourself yes and I have been blown away by their defensive execution and the fact that their best most decorated player even last night is still struggling yeah and the idea that it’s not like oh he knows he’s struggling so he’s deferring he’s taking 15 more shots than anyone on the team he’s gunning and it’s not you know he’s not scoring and the fact that they have I I talked about questioning their depth pass Warford how every minute how’s given him has been a good one and Dam Tilman comes in off the Ben and plays good defensively and does that right and so I absolutely underestimated that the c i I was wrong that the Celtics wouldn’t be ready for the degree lift in competition I did Slough off to a degree their gudy regular season record because I don’t think they have the guy the way that every other great team team has the guy or historically great team and defensively in my opinion this is a torta Force Team defense performance so yes like I that that is not a straw man that is fair I I missed it on them and it’s not for lack of watching it it’s because I’m like yeah but in a series I think Tatum might look like this I and he did and it doesn’t matter which speaks to the depth of the overall team and Missoula who I’ve been a huge critic of has done a hell of a job like that’s where I come out and obviously I underestimated them as well and have been all year and Joe Missoula I have put him on the hot seat a few times Hot Seat several times but Joe Missoula deserves a contract extension he’s only got three years $4 million left on this deal JJ reck’s probably gonna get more than that give this man a raise all right I like Joe I like Joe now I like the press conferences I like your demeanor all of it Joe I did underestimate them also like you said they don’t have a Luca a Giannis a embiid if he’s ever help a joker like and typically those are the teams that do win championships this would I mean we’ve talked about now are they more like the 04 Pistons that was the last team the 04 that was 20 years ago not super Celtics because no I mean I I don’t think any of these I mean look we’ll see in time but Garnett Pierce and Ray and at that point they were far more veteran than these guys are so I I would say that but I did think the three-point Reliance would would bite them at some point it hasn’t because of the defense they’re only shooting 34% from three but their defense is so Stout that they’re getting it done so credit to the Boston Celtics uh this team is playing phenomenal so I just want to you know I definitely underestimate it all right so they’re 79 and 20 15-2 in the postseason they haven’t lost since May 9th if they go 80 and 20 I think I have this right the last seem to go 80 and 20 was the 86 87 Lakers like Prime Showtime Lakers so on paper well 80 is that what about the the 72 win Bulls no so that’s I know they didn’t go 80 and but you talking about exactly 80 and 20 he means exactly exactly he’s not saying nobody’s done it he’s saying the last team to put up that exact number yes so are you are is that fair because on paper it is so here’s what I think and I know we’re going to talk more about if they’re historically great or not later I I will use the 04 Pistons as an example again which I brew I think Brew was the first one to say it but but the the 04 Pistons are considered as a great story that had a massive upset but a bit of a one-off the next year they were in game seven of the finals obviously I think it was was it game six or game seven that that she didn’t could won that right if they had won and then after that they went to three straight Conference Finals but they didn’t break through again if they had won that next year we would think more highly of the’ 04 team absolutely and so I I the I will use the Nuggets of last year as an example the Nuggets of last year have one all-time great player but not an overwhelming Supporting Cast if they had won the title again this year we would think about them oh that might have been that’s an all-time team you know what I mean like it all of it I I don’t think when you actually make the list of the alltime teams that I’m comfortable yet putting and we’re talking all time you’re talking about like top 25 champions of all time sure maybe but if we’re talking top 10 the top 10 teams no and I I know they have the record of like Fringe top 10 but to me no the answer to that is no and and look a part of why I underestimated him too was we’ve seen them fail so much and it not just they’re getting close but they can’t break through I’m not just talking about 22 finals when they lost the Golden State I’m talking about going out in the first round to uh uh teams I’m talking about losing to Miami time and time again like you view this te like maybe Drew is like the line but the core was Tatum and brown and so that played into my thinking too like they just haven’t been able to get over the and that’s what brown said by the way after the game was like we’ve been all year hearing about the last eight years but that we’re a different team and they are like they are they deserve credit Lakers coaching search next on FS1 Fox Sports Chan on serious 6 oh this is actually looks cool to be honest with you he looks strong there I’m very strong obviously what is that shirt made of thanks for watching subscribe here to get more from the show and to check out clips from other shows on FS1

Nick Wright, Kevin Wildes and Chris Broussard discuss the latest news in the NBA including the Boston Celtics win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

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Mavs fall to Celtics in Game 3, Luka fouls out & will BOS complete sweep? | NBA | FIRST THINGS FIRST

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