GoneTrending

There are many different theories about friends and money. Some say they shouldn’t mix. Others give freely to their friends without the expectation of being paid back. A lot of this depends on your financial situation and who you choose as friends.

A recent story posted to Reddit poses an interesting debate on friendship, boundaries and the almighty dollar. It begs the question: Do we owe our friends financial assistance?

A user named Stupidinlovelesigh asked the AITH forum if she was in the wrong for being “deeply hurt” that she asked her wealthy friend for $5 and was turned down. A big reason she’s so upset is that when her friend needed help years ago, she was there for her and asked for nothing in return.

“My best friend and I have been friends for nearly 7 years. When we first met, she was struggling financially and lived paycheck to paycheck,” Stupidinlovelesigh wrote. “At one point, her car broke down and she had no transportation to work, so I would let her borrow my car and never asked her for gas money or anything in return. At the time, I was financially secure and was happy to help her out.”

Over time, their financial situations reversed. Stupidinlovelesigh was living paycheck to paycheck, and her friend, who married a millionaire, was flush with cash. In this new dynamic, Stupidinlovelesigh occasionally borrowed small amounts of money from her friend, no more than $25 and always paid her back.

However, things changed again.

“The last couple of times I asked to borrow money, she said she didn’t have it, which I found odd,” Stupidinlovelesigh wrote. “But then I asked to borrow $5, and she said the same thing, and I thought it was odd that she told me she didn’t have $5 to spare.”

The friend told her she had lent money to her brothers and other friends who didn’t pay her back, so she stopped lending money to people. “I replied and said that it was not fair for her to lump me in with her brothers as I have never done anything to take advantage of her,” Stupidinlovelesigh wrote. She also reminded her friend that they had a long history, and she was once the person asking for help.

“I am deeply hurt that she feels I was in the wrong, but I do not think I was the a**hole here. I understand that I am not entitled to anyone’s money, borrowed or not, but when she was in my shoes, I did everything I could to help her out. I could understand if I had asked to borrow a large amount of money, but I literally asked for $5,” Stupidinlovelesigh concluded her post.

The commenters were divided over who was wrong in this situation.

Some thought Stupidinlovelesigh was right to be hurt.

“The girl was driving around in her damn car for goodness sakes. I’d be hurt too if my friend, who I helped support through a very difficult time, started treating me like a beggar,” RandomDerpBot wrote. “I would 100% understand her boundary if you would take advantage of her in some way before. But you didn’t. I honestly hope I never get rich enough to be this stingy with the people I love. At least if this is truly causing a problem in her relationship she could tell you why,” No_Inspection_2977 added.

Many thought the friend was correct for establishing healthy boundaries between her friends, family and money.

“People are losing perspective because of the friend’s ridiculously secure financial situation. But [Stupidinlovelesigh] isn’t asking for a favor in an exceptional situation. She’s using the friend as a crutch on a regular basis. Then they have the audacity to try and shame the friend for getting tired of the situation and trying to distance from it. [Stupidinlovelesigh] isn’t entitled to the friend’s money and certainly doesn’t have the right to try and emotionally manipulate them for it,” PanserDragoon wrote.

“This isn’t over $5, though. This is over [Stupidinlovelesigh] frequently asking her friend for money. It doesn’t matter if [Stupidinlovelesigh] always pays her back. It’s that no one wants to be used for money. And the friend already has a bad taste in her mouth due to her brothers, so everyone is paying the consequences by the money well running dry to any and everyone,” Nina_Rae_____ added.

The story is an interesting study of how, when our lives change, it’s hard for our relationships to stay the same. For these two women, it seems that as their financial situations changed, they had a much harder time finding common ground. In situations like this, friends will either go their separate ways or work it out and have a stronger relationship. Let’s hope they can come to an agreement and focus on what really matters most: love and support rather than finances.

Cats have a reputation for being aloof and standoffish, like they’re better than everyone and simply can’t be bothered. Those of us who have cats know they’re not always like that … but yes, they’re sometimes like that. They can be sweet and affectionate, but they want affection on their terms, they want to eat and play and sleep on their own clock, and we puny, inferior humans have little say in the matter.

There’s a reason why we have obedience schools for dogs and not for cats. Maine coon or Bengal, Savannah or Siamese, ragdoll or sphynx, domestic cats of all breeds are largely untrainable little punks who lure us into loving them by blessing us with the honor of stroking their fur and hearing them purr.

But perhaps we assume too much when we think cats are full of themselves for no good reason. Maybe they are actually somewhat justified in their snootiness. Maybe they really, truly are superior to pretty much every other creature on Earth and that’s why they act like it.

(Cats, if they could talk, would be nodding and prodding us along at this point: “Yes, yes, you’re so close. Just a little further now, keep going.”)

Think about it. They’re beautiful and graceful, but also quick and powerful. They groom constantly so they’re almost always clean and their fur even smells good. They can fall from ridiculous heights, land on their feet and walk away unscathed. They’re wicked good ambush hunters. They can walk completely silently, like ninjas, then pull out the razor blades on their feet at will and do serious damage in an instant.

All of that makes them impressive specimens, but ironically it’s their total hubris that makes them truly superior. When they feel like it (because cats only do things they feel like doing) they will take on anyone and anything. Big, small, dangerous, fierce—doesn’t matter. That unbridled confidence—earned or not—combined with their physique and skill makes them the badasses of the animal world.

Want proof? Here ya go:

u201cI love cats, they are very brave and there is a challenge in their nature! u2764ufe0fud83dude02ud83dude02nnu201d

— Figen (@Figen)
1660655908

The lightning-fast smackdown is really the cat’s weapon of choice, isn’t it? They’re so fast with the swipe-slap, it takes their victims by surprise. “Aww, you’re so cute and cuddly, look at y—OUCH!” And then the way they just stand there and stare with their big eyes and their ears back. It’s unnerving. Throw in a little hiss or yowl, and no thank you.

If that video wasn’t enough to convince you, here’s another.

The snakes, man. I can’t get over the snakes.

Cats really are better than us and every other living thing, basically. And even if they aren’t, they believe they are, which counts just as much. They’re either the ultimate creatures or the ultimate conmen. Either way, you just don’t mess with them.

This article originally appeared on 08.17.22

Every parent, at some point, has to explain to their kids that some words are only to be used in specific situations, among certain company, under just the right circumstances. Since young kids don’t have their powers of discernment honed yet, it’s often easier to simply tell kids not to use certain words, like the mother of all profanities, the f-bomb.

Eventually, those kids will learn that adults don’t always have their sense of discernment honed either, and that swearing is often done haphazardly and without a lot of conscious thought. Perhaps that’s how the f-word ended up with so many meanings and usages, a reality hilariously brought to light in a “Father-Daughter Swearing Lesson” skit from The New Yorker.

“Dad, what does ‘f**k’ mean?” a young girl innocently asks her father while coloring at the kitchen table. His initial stumbling reaction is all too familiar, but as he gets rolling with an explanation, the scene gets funnier and funnier.

(There are multiple f-bombs dropped throughout, so consider this a **language warning.**)

It’s really hard as a parent to give age-appropriate answers to questions that don’t really have age-appropriate answers, and when you get stuck in that kind of lesson, it’s difficult to know when you’ve carried it too far or not far enough. Chris Gethard captured that tension perfectly, flipping back and forth between responsible parent concerned about his daughter’s innocence and basic dude with an appreciation for the f-word.

Both actors nailed their roles in this video. The way the dad discovers his own appreciation for the multi-purpose uses of the f-word as he’s explaining its various iterations is just as funny as his daughter’s facial expressions throughout the video. (Give that girl an Oscar, stat.)

People in the comments agreed that both performances were excellently delivered.

“Brilliantly acted. This begets a series – of flexible ‘bad words.'”

“The daughter’s face was priceless. Great short!”

“‘Do you know about the cognates? The cognates are amazing.’ Brilliant.”

“Absolutely brilliant. This should be in every film festival.”

People also appreciated the actual explanation of the f-word given by the dad in the skit.

“Great explanation. What struck me is that I grew up in a time in which fathers and daughters could never have had this conversation. What a difference such trust and honesty would have made!”

“Wish my dad had given this answer when I asked in 3rd grade!”

“I once had a similar conversation with someone whose first language is not English. It was quite entertaining and I remember it fondly.”

“Brilliant. Perfect in every word and gesture I’d like to study the entire English language with these two.”

The best part has to be the ending, though. After all of those explanations of how the f-word is used in various contexts, the ultimate parent line—”never, ever say it”—is just classic. And then the permission to use it one more time, and then one more time after that. It’s all so very accurate to how parenting conversations so often go. No one tells you how to handle these kinds of questions, so parents fly by the seat of their pants, always with delightfully unpredictable results.

Imagine your 12-year-old son is helping take part in his school’s Valentine’s Day fundraiser. You’d probably be proud and encouraged at the way he’s getting involved and doing something good, right?

Now imagine, as part of that effort, he decided to email the CEO of Costco, one of the most beloved big box retailers in the world. Well, that’s cute, right? But what if he told you the CEO not only wrote back but went out of his way to donate exactly what your son asked for?

It may sound too good to be true, but that’s exactly what happened when Grant Cerwin sent an email to Costco CEO Craig Jelinek. The sixth grader emailed Jelinek asking if he would donate one of Costco’s famous 93-inch teddy bears to his middle school’s fundraiser in Los Angeles:

“Hi Mr. Jelinek,

My name is Grant Cerwin and I am 12 years old. I go to [removed] Middle School and am the 6th grade class rep. We want to raffle one of your giant bears as a Valentine’s Day fundraiser for our school. We are part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Is there any chance Costco might donate one? My dad has a truck and we could come get it at the store. I would make sure everyone knew you gave it to us in our school newsletter, on social media and with a big sign by the bear. I know it is a long shot but I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask. We are also seeing how we might get enough money to buy one. Thanks for considering. Your friend, Grant.”

Well, it turns out the long shot was perfectly timed.

Jelinek not only saw the email but jumped into action, asking his colleague “Can we find him a teddy?” Then his lieutenant emailed their colleagues to quickly find a bear for Cerwin’s school, writing: “Do whatever it takes to find a Big Bear and set up pick up for Lesley. Keep me posted.”

Grant then received the following message from Costco:

“Good morning Grant. I am the Toy Supervisor at our Costco’s LA Regional office. I have good news, Costco will be donating a 93” Plush Bear to your school to use in your Valentine’s Day fundraiser! We could have it delivered to the school directly so your parents don’t have to worry about transporting it.”

With time to spare, the Big Bear was delivered to Grant and his school was able to include it in their fundraiser. And while moments like this don’t happen every day, they are a great reminder that even the biggest companies are run by real people and those people often have big hearts. Big, as in 93” plush bear big.

And let’s be honest, we’re not entirely shocked that this happened at Costco, a company that has built a well-earned reputation for treating both its customers and its employees with dignity and respect.

“It speaks volumes about the leadership at Costco that Grant got the response he did,” Grant’s mother Lesley Cerwin told Upworthy. “He is a boundlessly optimistic child and as a parent you worry the world will chip away at that positivity. I’m grateful that the team at Costco reaffirmed my son’s belief that the world is full of good people.”

“I couldn’t believe that they responded so fast and that so many people helped,” Grant told Upworthy. “They didn’t want anything, just to help our school.”

Something as seemingly simple as a donated teddy bear might not sound like much, but it’s examples like this that show the power of bridge-building between companies and communities.

An act of kindness in itself can go a long way. And when that is coupled with the impact it had not only on Grant and his mom, but on Grant’s classmates, you can start to see a real impact that all started with a single email.

“My teachers and friends at school are excited,” Grant said. “We all can’t believe how big it is. It takes a bunch of us to move it around. Our ASB class is working on a thank you card.”

Plus, let’s be honest, a personal touch from someone as high-profile as Craig Jelinek and his team isn’t a bad way to build customer loyalty either. As Lesley told us, “I’ve always liked Costco. Will I be even happier to shop there now? You bet. It is a great store and now I am acutely aware that it is run by amazing people.”

This article originally appeared on 2.16.23

Although it is difficult to tell if there is a trend of Americans moving out of the country, rough estimates show that around 8 million currently live in other countries—double the 4.1 million living abroad in 1999.

The most popular countries for Americans to move to are Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom, in that order.

A big reason why some are leaving the U.S. is that an increasing number of employers allow people to work abroad. Others are choosing to leave because of cost of living increases and “golden visa” programs. Golden visas offer the chance to get a foreign residency permit by purchasing a house or making a significant investment or donation.

A couple is going viral on TikTok because they’ve decided to leave America and move to Spain. Luna Ashley Santel had wanted to move for a long time, but her husband wasn’t on board with the change until he had a lightbulb moment while visiting a Spanish café. The couple are parents of a 4-year-old daughter, and a big reason for their decision to leave is her safety.

@lunagoestospain

Here’s what shifted for him. I’m sure this’ll piss the right people off. No pun intended. #movingabroad #spaindigitalnomadvisa #movingabroadwithpets #movingtospainwithkids

While spending time in Spain, the couple went to a crowded café, which would have made them uncomfortable back home in St. Louis, Missouri.

“There’s a ton of people walking around. Being from St. Louis, that’s not a very comfortable place for me to be in,” the husband said. “And you turn to me and say, ‘Have you seen all these people?’” he recounted his wife saying.

“And you’re like, ‘None of them have guns,’” he continued.

At this moment, he realized that living in America caused him to be on alert whenever he was out in public. A feeling he never got in Spain. “And I realized this weight that I had been carrying around my whole life wasn’t necessary. Like what we think is normal is not normal,” he said.

When it comes to firearm policy, Spain and Missouri couldn’t be more different. In Spain, owning a handgun for self-defense is allowed when you are in verifiable danger. In Missouri, there is no permit requirement to carry a firearm, whether it’s concealed or carried openly.

In Spain, the gun death rate per 100,000 people in 2019 was 0.64. Whereas, in Missouri, the chance of being killed by a gun is more than 36 times greater, with 23.2 people per every 100,000 dying by gun in 2021.

The video resonated with many Americans who feel uncomfortable living in a country that has become accustomed to mass shootings.

“There’s so much mental energy we dedicate to simply existing in the U.S.,” Mintmage wrote.

“As a father of two young boys, your husband’s explanation has me shook because I cannot disagree,” Astrolo-G added.

“That is literally my main motivator for leaving the country. I am terrified for my son,” Doula Faye wrote.

Luna’s husband isn’t the only one in the family concerned about school safety in the U.S. Luna, a former teacher of 7 years, believes that sending her daughter to a school where they have “terrifying” intruder drills is unacceptable.

“It’s nothing that I want my 5-year-old child to have to accept or learn as normal,” she says in another TikTok post.

@lunagoestospain

Replying to @CholeraMeBadd a huge reason we are getting out. #gettingoutoftheusa #movingabroad #alicedrill #alicedrills #iquitteaching #ididntsignupforthishit #movingtospainwithkids

This article originally appeared on 7.14.23

Studies show that in opposite-sex couples, fewer younger women are choosing to take their husbands’ last names. According to Pew Research, 20% of women ages 18 to 49 say they kept their last name, compared with 9% of those ages 50 and older.

A TikTok user named Angie proposed a new approach to married names in a world where men and women are becoming more equal. She suggests that couples choose the “cooler” name.

A user named Kristen responded with a unique dilemma. She’s getting married next year and although her husband’s name is cooler, it doesn’t work with her first name.

@kdent27

#stitch with @angie or is it 10x cooler??

“So, I’m getting married next year, and my current last name is Dent,” Kristen says in the video with over 6 million views. “Which I think is a fine last name. Like, no complaints. My fiancé’s last name is McCuistion, which I think is cooler than Dent. The problem is my first name is Kristen, so I will be Kristen McCuistion. And I don’t think that’s quite as cool.”

It’s hard to say Kristen McCuistion without smiling, but it makes you sound slightly like Elmer Fudd when you say it. “It’s witawally fine,” MissLaurenTaylor jokes in the comments. “I think you just go by Kwisten,” Goldendoodlehater added.

Some people thought the name was amazing.

“Please PLEASE go by Kristen McQuisten. It will bring me so much joy to know that name exists somewhere out in the world,” Lady Katherine wrote.

Ultimately, Kristen says she wants to embrace her unique luck in the marriage lottery because the name brings a smile to people’s faces. “Our families have always had fun with my future name, so I always just accepted taking his last name,” Kristen told Newsweek. “I used to worry about having to introduce myself to people and being laughed at, but now I see it as a good icebreaker and laugh for new people that I meet.”

Being a mom is often a thankless job but it’s also one that feels nearly impossible to do while still maintaining balance in other aspects of life. This is especially true for moms that also work outside the home.

They’re somehow fitting in 40+ hours a week at an 8 to 5 while also keeping up with appointments, activities, special events, groceries and housekeeping. Then there’s the matter of fitting in time with your partner if you have one while also finding time for your friends and yourself.

There just simply don’t seem to be enough hours in the day for working moms to do all that is expected of them. But many working moms grew up with working moms who somehow seemed to have this work-life balance thing all figured out. One mom took to the internet to demand to know the secret that moms from the 80s and 90s are keeping around this common struggle.

The mom uploaded a video to her account, FamPhiji to express her confusion on how her own mother was able to do everything while never appearing stressed.

“Am I the only mom that’s actually confused at how her own mom was able to do this? How are you able to wake up, get yourself dressed, get me ready, take me to daycare or school, go to work, work a full shift,” Phiji asks. “Get off, pick me up, take me home, make sure I was fed, make sure I was bathed, put me to bed, wake up and do it all again?”

Other moms shared Phiji’s confusion on how their working moms were able to keep up with everything while maintaining their sanity.

“They had a different batch of 24 hours,” one woman claims.

“They had real coke in their coke, energy drinks [keep] me standing,” another mom jokes.

“Air quality was different,” someone says.

@_phiji

I’m tired. #momtok #momsoftiktok #toddlermom #toddlertok #millenialmom #momlife #momstruggles #fyp

Others were more serious with their answers as they lamented about what moms in the 80s and 90s went through.

“Honey, it took me til adulthood to realize my mom was depressed,” a commenter reveals.

“I don’t think they had time for themselves. I think they just kept moving and never even stopped to think about how exhausted and miserable they were,” someone assumes.

A mom from that older generation chimed in to confirm the suspicion of others, “there was no balance. We just kept moving cause we knew what had to be done,” she reveals.

So maybe it wasn’t magic or a super secret extra set of hours. Maybe it was the more likely scenario where they absolutely were overwhelmed and exhausted but we didn’t notice because we were children.

One day our own children will be asking how we made it all work and that’s your time to tell them the truth–balance is a lie. It takes equal partnership to make a household run smoothly and something will always get put down. It’s up to you to prioritize what you need to hold, what you can delegate, and what you can set aside for another day.

This article originally appeared on 1.12.24

Zendaya has already starred in two major blockbusters this year alone, and it’s only June. But while the actress’ major success over the past few years might make it seem like she is on top of the world, she’s just like one of us regular folks and sometimes gets afraid to leave the house! Who among us can’t relate?

The Challengers star opened up to Vogue about misconceptions people have about her. “I think sometimes people assume that because of what they see of me, maybe I’m a certain way,” she began.

But despite her impeccable work ethic, the actress revealed that she also struggles with anxiety. “But when I’m not working, I tend to isolate myself. My therapist, family, and friends will tell me, ‘You need to get up and get out,’ and I never want to—but when I make myself do it, I realize it’s actually kind of nice. I’m less anxious. I have to really be intentional about taking care of myself. I’m learning to be more responsible for myself and for my own body and looking after it all.”

When asked about how she copes, the actress revealed that walking her dog and taking things one step at a time has helped her the most. “Sometimes it’s just getting out of bed, telling myself, ‘We’re facing the day: we’re taking a shower, we’re putting on real clothes, we’re seeing some sunshine.’ I try to set little challenges for myself.” These challengers are very unlike the ones shown in Challengers, but that’s for the best!

For now, Zendaya says she’s shifting her focus to breathwork to help cope with her hectic life. “I’m just learning the importance of breathwork and meditation now. I’ve been living on a set and working since I was a kid, but it’s never been something that was accessible to me. I was just going, going, going, going, going. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for a very long time.”

She’s not the first actress to get real about anxiety in the spotlight: her boyfriend Tom Holland has been open about his mental health struggles and often takes social media breaks to protect himself against “spiraling.” Both superheroes and tennis stars need a break sometimes.

(Via Vogue)

Kaytranada’s new album Timeless is out today featuring collaborations with Rochelle Jordan (“Lover/Friend“), Channel Tres (“Drip Sweat“), Dawn Richard, Tinashe, Anderson .Paak, and more.

On one standout track, “Witchy,” Kaytranada taps Childish Gambino in full, 1980s lover boy crooner mode, to recount his experiences being bewitched by a woman with whom he finds himself falling in love. Kaytranada reportedly began teasing snippets of the track as far back as 2022, sharing them to his Instagram Story and playing it at shows, leading to fans calling it “2:15 AM,” due to an early lyric in which Glover sings, “Magic / It’s something special in the moment / It’s 2:15 up in the mornin’ / I’m talkin’ to you, but I’m really tryna hold your hand.”

Both artists have made notable returns after relatively quiet periods — although neither really went away. While Timeless is Kaytranada’s first album since 2019’s Bubba, he’s stayed busy, producing projects for IDK and Aminé. Meanwhile. Gambino, who recently released Atavista, an updated version of 3.15.20, after spending the past few years focusing on screen projects like Mr. And Mrs. Smith and Swarm.

Watch the visualizer for Kaytranada and Childish Gambino’s “Witchy” above.

Timeless is out now via RCA Records. You can find more info here.

The Boston Celtics‘ offense came out of the gates in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals on fire. The numbers were undeniable: They shot 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) from the field, a scorching hot 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from three, and nine of their makes were assisted in the first quarter. Kristaps Porzingis came off the bench and looked as good as you can after missing a month-plus with a hamstring injury, and was gigantic as the Celtics went from trailing the Dallas Mavericks by one point to opening up the largest lead after one quarter (17 points) in NBA Finals history. Outside of Jayson Tatum turning the ball over three times, everything was clicking.

And then, over the final three quarters of the game, the Celtic offense came back to earth a bit. From the second quarter on, Boston’s three-point shooting fell off — they only went 9-for-27 (a 33.3 percent clip) for the remainder of the game — and by the time they wrapped up a 107-89 victory, they team only posted an offensive rating of 115.1. All the caveats about one game vs. an entire season go here, but an offensive rating of 115.1 would have been 16th in the league this regular season, nestled right in between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

To be clear, Boston’s historically good offense (which had an ORtg of 122.2 this regular season) did more than enough to win on Thursday night, and the game state the rest of the way was largely determined by how well it performed in the opening 12 minutes. But the reason they won Game 1 so convincingly revolved around their performance on the other end of the floor. The Celtics’ defense was nothing short of magnificent from start to finish, as they did a brilliant job dictating the terms of engagement against a good but flawed Dallas offense.

The Mavs could not get much of anything going — their 89 points were the fewest they’ve put up in a playoff game this year. Their seven made threes and 27 attempts from deep were their second-lowest marks in a single game during the postseason. While Luka Doncic put up 30 points, Thursday marked the first time in his playoff career in which he only had one assist — his previous low in a single playoff game during Dallas’ run to the Finals this year was five.

The thing that makes Doncic such a special basketball player is not his relentless ability to score, although that is certainly a part of the equation. It’s his ability to make his teammates better just by how he gives them the basketball. Guys like Doncic (or LeBron James, or Nikola Jokic, or any of the special playmakers that we’ve seen in the league over the years) are able to use their gravity and their ability as passers to get ball into the hands of their teammates in the exact spot — both on the floor and in the shooting pocket — that they want. Doncic’s passing opens things up for his teammates, who hit shots, who open things up for Doncic, which leads to a cycle that overwhelms opponents.

Boston’s solution to this: Take away the stuff that the Mavs want on the other end of Doncic’s passes. The point has been made, over and over again, that Joe Mazzulla wants the Celtics to win the math game, that he understands three points is worth more than two points, and as a result, they attempted more threes per game than anyone else in the NBA this season. Jason Kidd also understands this, as Dallas was second in attempts per game on the year. The Mavs especially place a premium on getting guys like P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones Jr. looks from the corner — Dallas led the league with 11.3 attempts per game from the corner. A remarkably high 65.5 percent of Jones’ three-point attempts this postseason come from the corner, while that number is 57.8 percent for Washington.

Again, when those guys hit those shots, the court becomes larger. There is more space for Doncic and Kyrie Irving, which opens up more space for themselves and for the lobs to Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively Jr. that have become such a threat this postseason. Instead, Boston just cut their water off entirely — as a team, the Mavs went 1-for-3 on corner triples, and you can read a very good breakdown of how they did that via Joe Viray of SB Nation right here. Gafford and Lively combined for four total field goal attempts — they made all of them, but two were putbacks, one came off of a Doncic pass, and one came off of a pass by Washington. Beyond the fact that Doncic only had one assist, Tim MacMahon noted that Mavs players only shot 1-for-6 off of shots he got them — if Luka Doncic is only able to generate six shots for his teammates, Dallas has absolutely no chance to win this series.

Mixed with the fact that Boston’s defense smothered Irving — he went 6-for-19 from the field, missed all five of his attempts from three, and did not have an especially good time against the duo of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White — we witnessed a defensive masterclass from the Celtics, one in which they were happy to let Doncic get his as a scorer and nothing else really worked. It’s the unique problem Boston causes teams, and is why they were second in the league in defensive rating. When they are all locked in, the six guys they lean on the most (White, Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Tatum, Porzingis, Al Horford) all range from “very good” to “elite” on the defensive end of the floor. There just aren’t a ton of places to consistently attack, and even Sam Hauser was able to get the better of Doncic at one point in the game.

Trading for Holiday and Porzingis wasn’t viewed as an especially big risk because of how well they fit into the Celtics’ existing infrastructure, and while we saw that pay off all regular season, Porzingis’ injury in the first round meant that it had been a minute since we saw exactly how good the Boston defense is at its absolute best. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was not just a reminder, it was an emphatic statement that the Mavs have quite the uphill task ahead of them. Doncic and Irving are two of the league’s best problem solvers, and it’s certainly possible that they’re going to find something to exploit between now and the start of Game 2. But if they can’t — or, if they can but Boston has an answer for it — the Celtics defense is going to lead the way to a championship.