2024 NBA FINALS: #1 Boston Celtics vs #5 Dallas Mavericks (BOS leads 2-0)

[The Corey's]

It's clear the Celtics are never gonna get their flowers.

Well just take titles instead.

[blueberrysticky]

What do you want luka to do?

He's not 100% and he has to spend all his energy on the offensive end.

He COULD spend less energy on offensive end and muster what he can defensively but then who is going to score for the mavs? Kyrie has been cold and anytime the role players are getting wide open 3s they are missing.

DO you want luka to pass the ball immediately to PJ washington or DJJ who then go 1on1, they turn the ball over or miss a shot instead? Now luka has that defensive energy lol. I still remember the play where luka gave the ball to PJ washington and he immediately loses the ball and tries to bail by giving it to luka who has to immediately then do a risky pass b/c of the 8 sec backcourt violation possibility. That turnover went to Luka which is hilarious

Luka is stuck UNLESS kyrie wakes up earlier

[username_taken]

It’s funny how much carrying a team on your back is glamorized. I don’t care that Tatum shot poorly since they won, Oshae Brissett could win Finals MVP for all I care as long as the Celtics finish the job here

[GSP]

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[Triple M]

Dallas should feel both good and bad.

Good because they can win games in this series. Bad because they let this game get away from them (G2).

Three things cost Dallas this game -- turnovers, missed free throws and letting Boston go on a 3rd quarter run. Four things if you count the poor three point shooting.

The matchup favors Boston but Dallas can hang. But they have to clean up the mistakes.

Kyrie struggles against Boston and that hurts. Also Lively isn't nearly the asset he is against most teams when playing Boston. Style issue.

Except for the first quarter of G1, this has been a decent series. But Dallas has to get to a higher level to make it a truly competitive series.

A lot here is right but i feel Dallas has been more undisciplined

[bucknut]

That’s all true but before the series we were hearing Kyrie is the 2nd best player in the series and Jones, Washington, Lively and Gafford were all world defenders. Also that Luka and Kyrie were now good defenders.

Do you believe that Mavs outside Luka are 15% 3-points shooters. Do you believe that Kyrie is 35% Fg shooter?

Against a tough defense in the finals it appears that way. I know they are better shooters over the regular season, I think some of this is on Luka not getting the ball to guys in good spots. Mavs need to move the ball more or it’s too easy for the Celtics to disrupt the flow.
It’s kind of like asking do you think Tatum 40% shooter who can’t hit a big three.

It's all about rhythm and comfort. Mavs role guys are not great shooters but against OKC and Minny they were getting pocket corner 3s and were dictating action so role players knew their exact spots and roles.

[Capn'O]

Celtics are playing a few levels higher than they were previously. This squad is going to be very tough to keep from winning the chip.

[ITYSL]

What do you want luka to do?

He's not 100% and he has to spend all his energy on the offensive end.

He COULD spend less energy on offensive end and muster what he can defensively but then who is going to score for the mavs? Kyrie has been cold and anytime the role players are getting wide open 3s they are missing.

DO you want luka to pass the ball immediately to PJ washington or DJJ who then go 1on1, they turn the ball over or miss a shot instead? Now luka has that defensive energy lol. I still remember the play where luka gave the ball to PJ washington and he immediately loses the ball and tries to bail by giving it to luka who has to immediately then do a risky pass b/c of the 8 sec backcourt violation possibility. That turnover went to Luka which is hilarious

Luka is stuck UNLESS kyrie wakes up earlier

Mavs were actually getting some easy points when Luka was giving the ball up early in the offense to a wing cutting into the paint, rather than waiting for a screen at an attempt to get a mismatch

[TommyPoints]

It’s funny how much carrying a team on your back is glamorized. I don’t care that Tatum shot poorly since they won, Oshae Brissett could win Finals MVP for all I care as long as the Celtics finish the job here

I don’t care what people call Tatum as long as it will be NBA champion.

[Triple7]

JKidd **** up when he challenged that PJ washington foul early in the 1st. Even if it was successful, celtics still has the ball. That’s just dumb!

I thought he was trying to stop the refs from hitting PJ with quick cheap fouls. He got two cheapies early in game one and it hurt them. I thought it was a safe challenge until they showed the other angle after the commercial break.

Bro, its PJ washington??? Who cares if he gets cheap fouls early. If it was luka or kyrie getting a cheap foul, then maybe, but its still dumb because they are not getting the ball either way. You need the challenge late on games.

[Triple7]

JKidd **** up when he challenged that PJ washington foul early in the 1st. Even if it was successful, celtics still has the ball. That’s just dumb!

I thought he was trying to stop the refs from hitting PJ with quick cheap fouls. He got two cheapies early in game one and it hurt them. I thought it was a safe challenge until they showed the other angle after the commercial break.

Bro, its PJ washington??? Who cares if he gets cheap fouls early. If it was luka or kyrie getting a cheap foul, then maybe, but its still dumb because they are not getting the ball either way. You need the challenge late on games.

[blueberrysticky]

What do you want luka to do?

He's not 100% and he has to spend all his energy on the offensive end.

He COULD spend less energy on offensive end and muster what he can defensively but then who is going to score for the mavs? Kyrie has been cold and anytime the role players are getting wide open 3s they are missing.

DO you want luka to pass the ball immediately to PJ washington or DJJ who then go 1on1, they turn the ball over or miss a shot instead? Now luka has that defensive energy lol. I still remember the play where luka gave the ball to PJ washington and he immediately loses the ball and tries to bail by giving it to luka who has to immediately then do a risky pass b/c of the 8 sec backcourt violation possibility. That turnover went to Luka which is hilarious

Luka is stuck UNLESS kyrie wakes up earlier

Mavs were actually getting some easy points when Luka was giving the ball up early in the offense to a wing cutting into the paint, rather than waiting for a screen at an attempt to get a mismatch

This is true; the mavs need to alleviate some pressure from Luka. Imagine having the entire Finals game being run through you offensive and defensively and you aren't even 100%. The energy level is empty by 3rd quarter. Boston is happy letting Luka burn out

[HotRocks34]

Dallas should feel both good and bad.

Good because they can win games in this series. Bad because they let this game get away from them (G2).

Three things cost Dallas this game -- turnovers, missed free throws and letting Boston go on a 3rd quarter run. Four things if you count the poor three point shooting.

The matchup favors Boston but Dallas can hang. But they have to clean up the mistakes.

Kyrie struggles against Boston and that hurts. Also Lively isn't nearly the asset he is against most teams when playing Boston. Style issue.

Except for the first quarter of G1, this has been a decent series. But Dallas has to get to a higher level to make it a truly competitive series.

A lot here is right but i feel Dallas has been more undisciplined

I agree.

[HoopsterJones]

Yeah. Mavs a really relying a lot on hero ball on offense which is not sustainable. Their role players have to make some open 3’s and some FTs.

Celtics are just so good at spreading the floor and play so cohesively on both sides of the ball, they don’t need hero ball at all to win a game. Looks like they will easily win the Finals.

[Capn'O]

It’s funny how much carrying a team on your back is glamorized. I don’t care that Tatum shot poorly since they won, Oshae Brissett could win Finals MVP for all I care as long as the Celtics finish the job here

I don’t care what people call Tatum as long as it will be NBA champion.

They're a little like the 2004 Pistons in that their offense is by committee and they're a great defensive team. There's not really an analog to Ben Wallace but that's fine. Maybe White? KP is Sheed.

[The-Stallion70]

Going about how I expected, Boston is generally more talented and deeper but they are also a bad match up for Dallas.

Brown and their other guys are great at staying in front of Luka and for whatever reason KP is better at defending the lob and vertical spacing from Lively and Gaff. The lob game is huge for opening up lanes for Luka and Boston is good at defending it. Luka is also having trouble with Boston's athleticism on defense. Kidd should try a 3 guard lineup and put more ball handling and perimeter shot creation on the floor.

Offensively Boston moves the ball extremely well and are great at making open shots so when Luka gives a poor effort defensively and someone has to help they are great at moving the ball.

Getting KP and Holiday really put Boston over the top. Interested to see how other teams adjust to them now with offseason moves.

[The Rainmaker]

Jrue was the most efficient player in this game (G2; NBA Efficiency) with 39 units, followed by Luka at 36.

Jrue is a massive upgrade over inefficient Marcus Smart and better than him in every aspect of basketball. Brad Steven's is the real MVP.

[ITYSL]

This is true; the mavs need to alleviate some pressure from Luka. Imagine having the entire Finals game being run through you offensive and defensively and you aren't even 100%. The energy level is empty by 3rd quarter. Boston is happy letting Luka burn out

Yep. Game 4 might be the most interesting of the series. It will be the first with only a one-day break. Luka has already looked gassed in both 4th quarters and those were in games with good breaks before them. So I'll be curious to see how he'll be in Game 4 with a shorter break.

[ITYSL]

Also, as they say, a series doesn't start until a team loses at home. But as a Celtics fan, obviously couldn't be happier with the two wins so far.

[AussieCeltic]

9 points, 5 turnovers leading to 9 Celtics points in the 2nd half for Luka.