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

[CelticSooner]

Mavs are playing the same defensive coverage as the OKC series but KP is not Chet homlgren and has destroyed the switches.

Celtics also employing the OKC defensive coverage and PJ/DJJ have not hit the open 3s.

Mazulla just playing the math game.

Celtics are OKC but with a worse star and a way better supporting cast.

If Chet could punish switches they would have won. KP post ups are just money.

If Jaylen Williams would have shown up they would have won.

[Tha Cynic]

Even if Boston shoots terribly from 3, letting them take this many 3 will be a losing recipe for Dallas. They're not a balanced team who can rely on their supporting cast to keep up.

[Tyrone Messby]

Really impressive play by the Celtics, but it's one half..of the first game. I remember the Suns working the Bucks going up 2-0 only to then lose 4 in a row.

[Handlez]

Lol @ all the Tatum slander.

Man is playing team ball and up huge in the NBA finals.

Wtf.

[azcatz11]

Man I missed basketball. This off-season is gonna be serious withdrawal.

It’s really not that bad. Draft in a few weeks and summer league right after. It’s basically no basketball for 2 months and we’re back in it

[ChartFiction]

No that was just Tatum being overrated.

Ball hog and no defense. Everyone else is playing both sides of the ball.

Brown>Tatum I will die on that hill.

This is why I come here. What an analysis.

A lil over the top sure, but Tatum once again isn’t playing up to his “level”. Or maybe this is his level. Imo he is not and cannot be your #1 player. Luckily for him he has Brown and a heck of a complete team around him. He cannot carry a team. Never shown it

Tatum's created a lot of shots for Boston. He keeps losing his handle on drives but otherwise does not look bad to me.

[chrisab123]

Jaylen Brown seems really pissed Devin Booker made 3rd team over him

[GrandTheftRondo]

tatum can coast and the celtics are dominating lol… **** ain’t even fair

Basketball has always been about building the best team possible.

The ESPN narrative of it needing to be one guy doing everything is garbage.

This **** ain’t tennis

[Jasen777]

What if Porzingis is the best player in the finals? Does he deserve to be named finals MVP after missing the majority of the playoff?

The clue is in the name.

[PierceFan4ever]

The ball needs to be in Derrick white’s hand to end quarters. Stop **** around in the final minutes. It’s the finals not the regular season. No 3 point prayers where if it goes in the crowd goes nuts but if it’s a miss it’s a horrible shot. Don’t look for home runs

[BigGargamel]

Series is over.

Why do you posters do this every. Single. Time? Don't you get tired of knee-jerking everything?

[AlCelticFan]

Just crazy shooting by the C's right now.

It's just so much easier when there's no one defending.

[JustBuzzin]

No that was just Tatum being overrated.

Ball hog and no defense. Everyone else is playing both sides of the ball.

Brown>Tatum I will die on that hill.

This is why I come here. What an analysis.

A lil over the top sure, but Tatum once again isn’t playing up to his “level”. Or maybe this is his level. Imo he is not and cannot be your #1 player. Luckily for him he has Brown and a heck of a complete team around him. He cannot carry a team. Never shown it

Yeah it was over the top, but I still stand on Brown>Tatum.

Tatum is a little bit better offensively, but Brown is much better on defense and he steps up in crunch time.

[jfs1000d]

This board is obsessed by Tatum lol

Celtics are destroying Mavs and that’s the takeaway?

The board more shook the Mavs. Mavs defense to make Tatum a playmaker. He got no problem letting these cats bomb away. If you don’t help on Tatum, he will carve up whoever is guarding him on the drive.

[Mamba81p]

Weak finish to the half from Boston.

No that was just Tatum being overrated.

Ball hog and no defense. Everyone else is playing both sides of the ball.

Brown>Tatum I will die on that hill.

I thought you died on the bucks will win the east hill

[docholliday99]

Celtics look like a team that had a cakewalk to the finals vs. a team that had to go through a grinder out West.

Anyways it's just one game. Mavs look a bit rattled but that's because they just cannot open threes to drop.

I think people just need to see that just because the Celtics have made it look easy, doesn't necessarily equate to having it easy.

I don't think it should be a surprise what's happening, think Dallas is hungry? I think the much vilified Celtics have much more to prove, coming out with a haymaker. Still, games not over and one never knows, it's only a 21 pt difference and a hot Dallas run could catch them up quite quickly - wouldn't surprise me.

[durden_tyler]

i'll say this for Dallas though, they have the tools to make a game out of this one. Boston is also known to relax when unmotivated (a 20 pt lead can do that to this Celtics team). Hoping Boston has learned their lessons earlier this season because they can't afford to choke in this game or Mavericks is winning the series if they manage to steal this game.

[web123888]

Pretty much going as I expected. Just game 1 and doesn’t mean that much imo. Adjustments should and will be made. Great overall game by Celtics though.

[meh]

ESPN halftime show is 99% commercials. WTF?

[JShuttlesworth]

Kyrie didn't really make his presence felt at all in that first half

It felt like Luka didn't play well either, but he still found a way to put up 17 points. It still felt like he missed a few that could have just as easily dropped though

Let's see how Kyrie responds in the second half