B's NBA Finals Breakdown

  These NBA Finals are filled with wild story lines from Kyrie’s return to Boston to Jason Tatum having a prophecy to fulfill. The Mavericks got here by relying on their star players to make clutch plays while Boston spread the ball out to create multiple threats. In this article, I dive in to how I see these Finals playing out and what stories are worth keeping an eye on.  

         Road to the Finals:

Dallas Mavericks: In 2023, the Mavs traded for Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline. It seemed that chemistry was a major issue along with defense as the Mavs had two elite scorers, but their backcourt struggled to get stops. These Mavericks with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic failed to get into the play-in tournament and as that happened Kyrie Irving faced a lot of backlashes as he was already a controversial figure and couldn’t get the Mavs into the playoffs. Was looking to be, yet another place where Kyrie went, and he couldn’t get the job done.

Then came this season. Luka Doncic came very close to averaging a triple double on the season while leading the league in points and being second in assists. This Dallas team is much deeper than previous teams from a perspective of Kyrie and Luka aren’t the only sources of production. They do get help from the likes of Derrick Lively, PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford as they are averaging 7.2, 6.7 and 5.0 rebounds per game respectively. The backcourt combination is hands down the best in the league. The front court has been one of the best in the league as well throughout these playoffs.

The Mavs found ways to put down the Clippers, the Thunder and the Wolves. They ran the gauntlet of teams and proved to be the better team in each series. The first two series they played in were close and went to six games. The last series against the Wolves was won in five and really should have been a sweep but a few late mistakes brought the Mavs back to Minnesota where they closed the Wolves out. They would wind up winning that game five on the road by twenty points, achieving some well-deserved rest.

Boston Celtics: Two Years ago. The Celtics had finally cracked through the glass and made it to the NBA Finals. In those Finals, the Celtics lost three of the four games they played at home to the Warriors. Jaylen Brown was their best player as he was their best player in these playoffs thus far. The Celtics had success spreading the ball in those playoffs as they have these playoffs but when your star player doesn’t show up, you are bound to fall short.

The Celtics were the favorites to win the east, but they found themselves in a three-game hole against the Miami Heat. They clawed their way back to make it a series as they as a team played exceptionally well in games four through six. It was the inconsistency though that led to their demise. In game seven, which was played in Boston the Celtics fell completely flat. They lost by twenty points on their home floor after being on the brink of pulling off an insane three-game comeback which has never been done before.

This year they won sixty-four games which is one of the best records in NBA history. Given last year’s crash and burn in the Finals as well as their recent performance in the playoffs, I expected the Celtics to go out the same way they had previously. To my surprise, the Celtics won every single one of their series in five games or less. Both the Heat and Cavs were heavily undermanned, but it would have only made a difference against the Heat. Against the Pacers who lost their star guard Tyrese Haliburton the Celtics fell early in each game they played. The Celtics wound up making comebacks in each game they played including a miraculous three that Jalen Brown somehow hit in game one to push the game to overtime. The Celtics swept the Pacers in a tightly contested series, but one that saw the Celtics step up when the moment was big.

Tale of the Tape: Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum have put this team on their backs much like Kyrie and Luka have with the Mavs. I think these teams both have a lot of depth, but the edge goes to the Celtics given they have lock down defender Jrue Holiday on their side. A lot of people have judged them for their competition, but you can only judge a team based off their performance against the teams they played. Unfortunately for the Celtics, this is the first team they are playing in the playoffs that has decent health (knock on wood) as well as playoff experience in Kyrie and Luka.

Best story line to watch: Kyrie Irving - This is the talking point everybody will have come in and following this series. How will Kyrie respond to playing his former team which he left in quite a toxic way. A few years ago, the Celtics swept Kyrie’s Nets and Kyrie flipped off a fan as he has stated, was not in a good mental place. Kyrie seems to have matured from his mistakes (which we have all made) and looks to be in a better place now. The Boston crowd will try their hardest to get to him but that is why the mentality that Jason Kidd and his teammates bestow in him for this series must be positive.

Time to prove yourself: Jason Tatum - You have been surrounded with talent your entire career. The Lebron comparisons are insane because Lebron didn’t have a great team in Cleveland. I can excuse the exits early on in his career but not the Finals performance of two years ago. Being the second worst shooter of players who played valuable minutes, is simply embarrassing given he is supposed to be the star. He also shot 65% at the free throw line and that cannot happen again if he is going to win his first ring. Statistically he shot better than 90% at the free throw line in the eastern conference finals last season. He shot .469% from the field last season which is probably the biggest reason the series got to seven games. Scoring a whopping fourteen points in that game seven also is not cutting it so let’s see Jason Tatum be the superstar everybody said he is in these Finals. If he gets outshined by Luka and Kyrie, we owe an apology to Kyrie and Luka.

Keys to the series:

(Boston Celtics)

Don’t let the moment get too big: “Pressure is a privilege.” That is what a great man, named Mr. Wade used to tell the Blake team every time we had a big game. A cliché? Sure, but it is something we all need to hear when we feel the heat of the moment upon us. If you are facing pressure, it is because you have done something to make people expect something of you. They did a good job of managing the pressure in game one, but they must keep it up if they are going to win this series. Pressure is earned and that is the situation in Boston. They have done well this season managing it, but this is a different animal, one that fortunately they saw two years ago. That will help along with the addition of great defenders in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. If this team can handle the pressure, then they’ll be set but if they go down early in the series, the pressure will only increase and will turn into a consequence.

Trust Tatum to make a play: In a lot of the biggest losses the Celtics have seen, in the late stages of the games Tatum has had the ball taken out of his hands. This includes last season’s game seven of the eastern conference finals where Tatum had just thirteen shots in that twenty-point loss. There are other stars on the team though, like Derrick White and Jrue Holiday who are dependable and deserve shots. You need your best player though to hit the most important shots. After the last series there is no reason not to trust Jalen brown, as he won MVP of the series. Tatum averaged thirty points per game last series and is the franchise player of the team. You must give him a chance. Joe Mazzulla must be ready to die by the sword which is Jason Tatum’s shooting. If you don’t trust him late, then you might as well let him walk in free agency because it says that you don’t trust your star.  

(Dallas Mavericks)

Support Kyrie and Luka: Kyrie and Luka have done enough in these playoffs for me to trust them. When the game is on the line, the Celtics job is simple, deny them the ball. The job for the rest of the game for the Mavericks is to support those two offensively. On the glass, I think the Mavericks are a better team, but in terms of depth I give the nod to the Celtics. Only three players on this team average double-digit points, so the dependency is on Derrick Jones Jr. and Dereck Lively III to score. Against the Thunder, PJ Washington averaged seventeen points in the series. If he can get around fifteen points on a consistent basis along with Jones and Lively finding double digits, then they should be alright.

Stay Disciplined: Kyrie seems to have matured a lot since the last time he played for the Celtics in the postseason. Luka on the other hand is a hothead. He had thirteen technical fouls the season and has struggled most of his career with losing his cool. In game one he didn’t play well but stayed composed. In game one, Derrick Lively III accumulated five fouls in fourteen minutes, showing a lack of discipline. Kyrie’s play was not composed but emotionally he looked composed. If Kyrie can find a way to channel his fire without letting the Boston fans get to him then Dallas will be in position for success. These are all effects of inexperience in a big moment, but I don’t think it changed much.

B’s Prediction: I say this because the Mavs have started off every series slow, including dropping game one in the first round to the Clippers by twenty-two points. The Mavericks still have a lot going for them, they just need to be more disciplined. With the Celtics, there have been two players who have been consistent in these playoffs, and they are Jalen Brown and Derrick White. That’s fine, but if your best player in Jason Tatum doesn’t show up, a ring won’t either. On the other hand, I have seen Kyrie Irving do amazing things in the Finals and Luka Doncic put teams on his back. It is the consistency of those two players who will be the reason the Mavs win in six games. MAVS IN SIX. (Shout out Mikey)

GAME ONE REACTION: The Celtics blew out the Mavs. It was only close in the third quarter for a little while as the Mavs nearly mounted a comeback before the Celtics slammed the door shut. Kristaps Porzingis had eighteen points in the first half and two in the second. I highly doubt he will have that great a half again, but the trouble for the Mavs is he becomes another player to watch for game two. Jalen Brown shooting fifty percent from the line is a concern along with Tatum shooting below forty percent. They must get the ball into Jalen Brown’s hands more often in game two, because he has been the most consistent player on the team this postseason. Derrick White has also been playing well, putting up fifteen points in the series opener. If the Celtics can get good production from these two players, they might not need Tatum as much to step up in the clutch. Key for the Celtics is spreading the ball.

My concerns for Dallas were simply nerves because they got the better of the Mavs in the first half. If they can run their offense while finding ways to shut down Jason Tatum, then they’ll be alright. They must turn these games into track meets in the second half while staying close after the first half. If they can do that, they can put pressure on the Celtics offense as Jason Tatum has yet to prove himself in high pressure situations. The Mavs must find ways to make Jason Tatum beat them, because giving Kristaps free reign is almost buying a flight home. Jalen Brown can beat the Mavericks but not by himself, so if the Mavs can put him at the free throw line, they will be okay. The Mavs also must limit their turnovers, because they really messed with their rhythm in the second and third quarters. The Celtics had more turnovers, but the Mavs turnovers were more costly as they happened at inopportune times. My key to win for the Mavs is to stay in the race.