Caitlin Clark has a right to be disappointed…
and the Dallas Mavericks have a right to be in a bit of a panic.
Mavs in Trouble?
What Happened: “The series doesn’t start until the home team loses” is a phrase sports fans hear thrown around often. Plenty of Dallas Mavericks fans surely were muttering it last night, and they better hope there is some truth to it.
The Celtics raced out to a 2-0 lead behind their suffocating defense, again keeping Dallas under 100 points despite their own struggles shooting from the floor.
Kristaps Porzingis appeared to aggravate the calf injury that kept him out of action for over a month. But even an injury to Boston’s third star might not be enough to slow down its championship momentum.
Why It Matters: Conventional wisdom as mentioned above might provide some comfort to Dallas’ fanbase, but history isn’t on this team’s side. Teams with a 2-0 lead in the Finals have an all-time series record of 31-5. Long odds for the Mavericks to overcome, who are now +660 at FanDuel to end up as champs.
Despite his own nagging health concerns, Luka Doncic has been the best player in the series. He notched his seventh triple-double this postseason in Game 2’s loss, but he’s getting no help from Kyrie Irving (28 points through two games after averaging 27 against the Timberwolves.)
If things keep going this way, the Celtics will have the title wrapped up in short order. But is it feasible that Doncic is named Finals MVP, even in a losing effort?
How We’re Feeling Today
A bit conflicted about the news that Caitlin Clark did not earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team headed to Paris.
On the one hand, Clark making the team purely from a marketing angle is a no-brainer. She is one of, if not the biggest stars in the women’s game, and surely would’ve attracted more eyeballs to the games.
However, if the goal is to send over the team best positioned to win a gold medal, it’s hard to argue that the folks complaining about Clark have a legitimate beef. Clark is just 22, and while she’s adapting to the WNBA just fine, she also leads the league in turnovers and is clearly adjusting to the more physical nature of the game. If those have been problems in the W, they’d surely be in international play as well.
Picking the biggest names in a given sport doesn’t always work. Style of play, chemistry with teammates, and players who can fulfill similar roles all played a part in Clark missing out on the 2024 games. She’ll get her chance in the future, but if winning in August is the goal, Clark being left home is easy enough to justify.
The Look Ahead
Erick Fedde STRIKEOUTS – Fedde gets to face a Seattle lineup that’s done plenty of swinging and missing in June. Over the last two weeks, only the Red Sox (127) have been rung up more than Mariners hitters (123). The White Sox righty has a line of 5.5 tonight; he’s topped that in three straight starts and in four of his last five, so we think he has a great chance to hit the over on this play.
