Kyrie Irving said late in the season that the Mavs were just getting started. He was right

Kyrie Irving was not making a threat, nor was he boasting, nor was he saying anything that would be considered outlandish. It was the final week of the regular season. He and the Dallas Mavericks had just clinched a division title and Irving was asked to talk about what it means.

He didn't look back. He looked ahead.

“We just know that the job isn’t finished,” Irving said in Miami that night. “And we’re just getting started.”

Turns out, he was right. The Mavericks — who spent most of February and March looking destined for the play-in tournament, a team that was barely better than a mediocre 26-23 after 49 games — figured things out just in time, and a trip to the NBA Finals is their reward.