Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks are a perfect match

Life is all about the right fit. Whether it's your partner, your job or even the neighborhood you live in. For both Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks, they've seemed to have finally found the right fit. 

Dallas is one win away from returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, despite being the fifth seed in the Western Conference (no team has ever blown a 3-0 series lead). 

The Mavs would become only the second fifth seed to ever reach the NBA Finals, joining the 2020 Miami Heat, and the first to do so in a non-pandemic season. 

Irving is the main reason why.

Luka Doncic has been on the Mavericks his entire career. He has even played in the Western Conference Finals before. But he's never been this close to the NBA Finals. 

So what changed? The addition of Irving.

Irving has been the difference maker, which is something we probably didn't think we'd be saying at the time. But these two, paired together, have been the right fit.

The Mavericks had tried to find the right running mate for Doncic. 

First it was Kristaps Porzingis, who lasted only 134 games with Dallas, after they traded away three players and three first round draft picks for him. The Mavericks never won a playoff series with Porzingis.

Then it was Jalen Brunson. Who has since turned in to a star in New York. But at the time, the Mavericks didn't see the value in him. He and Doncic were both too ball dominant. 

Down 0-2 in the count, Dallas took a big swing on Irving, a talented guard who did not work out in his previous two stops in Boston and Brooklyn. 

The Mavericks had to buy at the bottom of the market, as most teams wouldn't have touched Irving with a 10 foot pole. He was believed to be toxic.

And yet, he has been nothing but a dependable employee for Dallas, unlike his previous teams. 

The Mavericks have made adjustments to make sure Irving is comfortable and taken care of, such as bringing in a personal chef for him during Ramadan and other minor things that other teams did not do.

In return, Irving has averaged 22.4 points per game this postseason, including an impressive 27.7 in the Western Conference Finals. He has reached 30 points in two of the three games against Minnesota, the No. 1 ranked defensive team in the league this year. 

In the fourth quarter of Game 3, the combo of Irving and Doncic outscored the entire Timberwolves team, 21-20, to secure the win.

Irving was previously a great co-pilot for LeBron James in Cleveland when they won the 2016 NBA championship, and now, he and Doncic are reminiscent of a different James pairing, as ESPN's Brian Windhorst compared the two to James and Dwayne Wade in Miami.

And the cherry on top for Irving? The opportunity to potential face one of his former teams, the Celtics, in the NBA Finals. Much like being able to show an ex-girlfriend, years later, how much better you're doing now without them. Proving to them that they were the problem, not you. 

It might take years, but sometimes in life you come across the perfect fit. After a few failed trials for both, Irving and the Mavericks seem to be a perfect fit.