Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal offered contrasting opinions on Celtics-Mavericks matchup

O'Neal thinks Jrue Holiday is "too little" to guard Luka Dončić.

Jayson Tatum and Kyrie Irving during a Celtics-Mavericks matchup in March 2024. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

May 31, 2024

3 minutes to read

Previewing the NBA Finals: The Celtics and Mavericks are officially set as the 2024 NBA Finals matchup, and the debate has already begun.

Representative of the two camps, “Inside the NBA” analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal are split on their finals picks. Barkley likes the Celtics, even if Kristaps Porzingis isn’t necessarily able to make it back onto the court in time for Game 1 (returning from injury).

“Without Porzingis, I still like the Celtics,” Barkley explained. “Stan Van Gundy and Reggie [Miller] said something really important: They’ve got four guys that can guard Luka [Dončić] and Kyrie [Irving], and Luka and Kyrie can’t guard those guys on the other end, in my opinion. So I like the Celtics. I think it’s going to be a hell of a series.”

O’Neal strongly disagreed.

“The Celtics do not have three or four guys that can guard Luka,” he countered. “I like Dallas in this series. I like the way they’re playing. I think this is a little special for Kyrie, maybe a little special for Porzingis because I know he played in Dallas, but I think I like Dallas in this series.”

Comparing Dončić with the contingent of Boston’s best players who will try to guard him, O’Neal also thinks the 25-year-old Slovenian has the edge in terms of poise on the big stage.

“He can’t be ‘shook,'” O’Neal said. “The fact that he’s been a professional since he was 13 years old, nothing shakes him. I don’t see anybody on Boston dealing with that. Maybe [Jayson] Tatum, but if I’m Boston I don’t want to get Tatum or Brown into foul trouble. And I think the other guys, too, you know Jrue Holiday is too little in my opinion.”

Of course, O’Neal isn’t entirely correct with his assessment of Dončić’s background. While Dončić joined Real Madrid at the age of 13, it was into the Spanish club’s youth development program. He didn’t make his professional debut until he was 16, though that was no small feat (becoming the youngest player in Real Madrid’s history).

As for O’Neal’s assessment of Holiday (and his Boston teammates), time will tell when the series gets underway on June 6.

Trivia: Joe Mazzulla is the youngest head coach (at 35) to reach the NBA Finals in more than 50 years. Who was the last 35-year-old head coach in NBA Finals history?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: It happened in 1969.

Scores and schedules:

The Red Sox lost to the Tigers 5-0 on Thursday. Boston and Detroit play again at Fenway Park tonight at 7:10 p.m.

Also on Thursday, the Mavericks defeated the Timberwolves 124-103 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, officially winning the series 4-1 and clinching a spot in the NBA Finals. The Celtics and Mavericks get underway with Game 1 on June 6.

More from Boston.com:

“Every team had a chance to pick me, and it was the Red Sox”: Dustin Pedroia discussed his connection to Boston during his Red Sox Hall of Fame induction.

For Dustin Pedroia, Boston will always be home. pic.twitter.com/6Y9j94asxc
— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 30, 2024

On this day: In 2016, Mookie Betts hit three home runs in a 6-2 Red Sox win over the Orioles.

Daily highlight: Here’s the moment that Bruhat Soma won the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee. In the second ever “spell-off,” Soma clinched it by correctly spelling the word “abseil.”