2024 NBA FINALS: #1 Boston Celtics vs #5 Dallas Mavericks (Game 1: Thursday June 6th)

[Bob8]

You must mean that class called Turnstile Defense 101.

You are the type of Celtics fan I’m going to enjoy reading after this series gets started. “Mavs play no defense, Kyrie sucks”. I look forward to yours posts after you actually see the Mavs play.

I'm gonna enjoy these Mavs fans getting that sticker shock when they run into a real team baby.

They actually think they have a shot which is hilarious.

I just received the news, Mavs won't play the Finals, Celtics are too good, no need to embarrass themselves.
Congrats to Celtics fans.

[bb22]

It’s Boston against the rest of the country. The Celtics are due, but Dallas has the 2 of the 4 best players in the series.

No need to thank me but i fixed it for you.

I respect it

[The Corey's]

You are the type of Celtics fan I’m going to enjoy reading after this series gets started. “Mavs play no defense, Kyrie sucks”. I look forward to yours posts after you actually see the Mavs play.

I'm gonna enjoy these Mavs fans getting that sticker shock when they run into a real team baby.

They actually think they have a shot which is hilarious.

I just received the news, Mavs won't play the Finals, Celtics are too good, no need to embarrass themselves.
Congrats to Celtics fans.

They probably shouldn't given how badly that are out gunned and how badly they played the Celtics this season.

Stick to the facts and the truth will set you free.

[sunsbg]

Mavs perimeter D will certainly be put to a test being there is no Giddey or Kyle Anderson to hesitate taking an open shot on this Celtics team. KP and Horford will try to draw Lively and Gafford away from basket and open lanes for drives inside by Tatum and Brown. PJ and DJJ will be busy on D and Mavs may have to play Kleber more if Celtics bigs are hitting their shots.

[Sweet Serenity]

Why is there so much arrogance on the part of Celtics fans? Is it perhaps a sign of insecurity? Losing that final against the Warriors or last year against the Heat with everything in their favor, it really hurt them.

You can almost smell the fear and envy coming from Celtics fans.

You do realise us fans are much happier we’re playing the Mavs & not the Wolves or Nuggets.

Matchups are important. Denver & Minnesota have no weaknesses on the perimeter defensively which is what worried me because for Tatum & Brown. Boston is the best team at finding mismatches & Dallas have 2 poor perimeter defenders that Tatum & Brown will be looking for all game.

[Bob8]

Mavs perimeter D will certainly be put to a test being there is no Giddey or Kyle Anderson to hesitate taking an open shot on this Celtics team. KP and Horford will try to draw Lively and Gafford away from basket and open lanes for drives inside by Tatum and Brown. PJ and DJJ will be busy on D and Mavs may have to play Kleber more if Celtics bigs are hitting their shots.

Game # 1 against Wolves, Wolves +36 in 3s and Mavs won. It's not easy to win 4 games just by shooting 3s. Celtics don't have Steph and Klay. If Luka plays like he played Wolves series or better, Mavs have a chance, because they will need to double and blitz him.

[reload141]

What date is the banner being raised?

[KamikazeK]

Why is there so much arrogance on the part of Celtics fans? Is it perhaps a sign of insecurity? Losing that final against the Warriors or last year against the Heat with everything in their favor, it really hurt them.

You can almost smell the fear and envy coming from Celtics fans.

Mavs are the matchup we wanted all along, don't be silly. Not all of us of course but many of us practically celebrated when y'all went up 3-0 on the wolves.

[jym85]

Why is there so much arrogance on the part of Celtics fans? Is it perhaps a sign of insecurity? Losing that final against the Warriors or last year against the Heat with everything in their favor, it really hurt them.

You can almost smell the fear and envy coming from Celtics fans.

You do realise us fans are much happier we’re playing the Mavs & not the Wolves or Nuggets.

Matchups are important. Denver & Minnesota have no weaknesses on the perimeter defensively which is what worried me because for Tatum & Brown. Boston is the best team at finding mismatches & Dallas have 2 poor perimeter defenders that Tatum & Brown will be looking for all game.

Conley is by the worst and most exploitable perimeter player from those 3 teams

[ITYSL]

But there is a reason Dallas has been the best defensive team in the NBA since March.

By what metric has Dallas been the best defensive team in the NBA since March?

In the regular season, from March 1 on they had the 7th best defensive rating and were 12th in points allowed per game.

In the playoffs they are 7th in defensive rating and 6th in points allowed per game.

[Bob8]

But there is a reason Dallas has been the best defensive team in the NBA since March.

By what metric has Dallas been the best defensive team in the NBA since March?

In the regular season, from March 1 on they had the 7th best defensive rating and were 12th in points allowed per game.

In the playoffs they are 7th in defensive rating and 6th in points allowed per game.

They had the best defensive rtg from March 8th, when Kidd changed starting lineup.

[sunsbg]

Mavs perimeter D will certainly be put to a test being there is no Giddey or Kyle Anderson to hesitate taking an open shot on this Celtics team. KP and Horford will try to draw Lively and Gafford away from basket and open lanes for drives inside by Tatum and Brown. PJ and DJJ will be busy on D and Mavs may have to play Kleber more if Celtics bigs are hitting their shots.

Game # 1 against Wolves, Wolves +36 in 3s and Mavs won. It's not easy to win 4 games just by shooting 3s. Celtics don't have Steph and Klay. If Luka plays like he played Wolves series or better, Mavs have a chance, because they will need to double and blitz him.

Or they let him score 50 and don't double him, try to stop everybody else. Remember even when Luka scored 70+ against Hawks the game was still close. That looks to be their strategy against any team. Luka's step backs need to fall for Mavs to have a chance in this series. He'll also need to play better D against Cs.

[Bob8]

Mavs perimeter D will certainly be put to a test being there is no Giddey or Kyle Anderson to hesitate taking an open shot on this Celtics team. KP and Horford will try to draw Lively and Gafford away from basket and open lanes for drives inside by Tatum and Brown. PJ and DJJ will be busy on D and Mavs may have to play Kleber more if Celtics bigs are hitting their shots.

Game # 1 against Wolves, Wolves +36 in 3s and Mavs won. It's not easy to win 4 games just by shooting 3s. Celtics don't have Steph and Klay. If Luka plays like he played Wolves series or better, Mavs have a chance, because they will need to double and blitz him.

Or they let him score 50 and don't double him, try to stop everybody else. Remember even when Luka scored 70+ against Hawks the game was still close. That looks to be their strategy against any team. Luka's step backs need to fall for Mavs to have a chance in this series. He'll also need to play better D against Cs.

Luka has played alone against Hawks. No Kyrie, Washington, Gafford...Luka is playing good team D.

Injured Pacers are thrown away 3 games, and we're acting like Celtics are unbeatable team. Really? If Luka scores 50, Celtics are not winning games.

[Sweet Serenity]

You can almost smell the fear and envy coming from Celtics fans.

You do realise us fans are much happier we’re playing the Mavs & not the Wolves or Nuggets.

Matchups are important. Denver & Minnesota have no weaknesses on the perimeter defensively which is what worried me because for Tatum & Brown. Boston is the best team at finding mismatches & Dallas have 2 poor perimeter defenders that Tatum & Brown will be looking for all game.

Conley is by the worst and most exploitable perimeter player from those 3 teams

You’re joking right ? Conley is a far better defender than Kyrie & Luka lol

[dc]

In many ways, this sort of looks like a repeat of 2022 for the Mavs.

They went on the road and put on an absolute beating on what looked like the biggest Western Conference contender, and now it's considered a legendary playoff moment. The next round, they played a more experienced team that was smart enough not to trash talk Luka (and had also faced Lebron 4 times in the Finals) and they lost in not very dramatic fashion.

I could see the parallels here this year, with the caveat that Luka has a much better supporting cast this time around.

I'm not saying the Mavs don't stand a chance, because any team that won 3 straight playoffs series vs 50+ win teams has a chance and is obviously a damn good team, but I think the Celts this year are just very complete and now have the Finals experience they didn't have back in 2022.

The question comes down to how well the Mavs can defend. Luka should be able to score just as Steph averaged 31 on excellent efficiency in 2022. Kyrie should be a better 2nd option than anyone the Warriors had. Their offense shouldn't be a problem.

The Warriors beat the Celts because of Steph being legendary + they defended at a very high level in a matchup where it was thought the Celts were the superior defensive team. I would expect Luka to also score extremely well just as Steph did. We have to see how well they defend against a Celts team that is much better offensively than in 2022.

[Sweet Serenity]

Game # 1 against Wolves, Wolves +36 in 3s and Mavs won. It's not easy to win 4 games just by shooting 3s. Celtics don't have Steph and Klay. If Luka plays like he played Wolves series or better, Mavs have a chance, because they will need to double and blitz him.

Or they let him score 50 and don't double him, try to stop everybody else. Remember even when Luka scored 70+ against Hawks the game was still close. That looks to be their strategy against any team. Luka's step backs need to fall for Mavs to have a chance in this series. He'll also need to play better D against Cs.

Luka has played alone against Hawks. No Kyrie, Washington, Gafford...Luka is playing good team D.

Injured Pacers are thrown away 3 games, and we're acting like Celtics are unbeatable team. Really? If Luka scores 50, Celtics are not winning games.

Halliburton or no Halliburton, that Pacers offense gives the Celtics more problems than the Mavs offense.

[jym85]

You do realise us fans are much happier we’re playing the Mavs & not the Wolves or Nuggets.

Matchups are important. Denver & Minnesota have no weaknesses on the perimeter defensively which is what worried me because for Tatum & Brown. Boston is the best team at finding mismatches & Dallas have 2 poor perimeter defenders that Tatum & Brown will be looking for all game.

Conley is by the worst and most exploitable perimeter player from those 3 teams

You’re joking right ? Conley is a far better defender than Kyrie & Luka lol

so I take it you didn't watch a single minute of that Min/Dal series
listed at 6' and that's generous. Plus he has lost a step due to age and was playing injured

[Ben-N1ce]

Series is going 4-7 games tops. Book it.

[Bob8]

Or they let him score 50 and don't double him, try to stop everybody else. Remember even when Luka scored 70+ against Hawks the game was still close. That looks to be their strategy against any team. Luka's step backs need to fall for Mavs to have a chance in this series. He'll also need to play better D against Cs.

Luka has played alone against Hawks. No Kyrie, Washington, Gafford...Luka is playing good team D.

Injured Pacers are thrown away 3 games, and we're acting like Celtics are unbeatable team. Really? If Luka scores 50, Celtics are not winning games.

Halliburton or no Halliburton, that Pacers offense gives the Celtics more problems than the Mavs offense.

And you know that because 2 games they played against Mavs? You might check how Celtics played against Luka in previous years. 2 game winning shots by Luka and assist to Dinwiddie for the winning shot. And believe me Mavs are much better now. Mavs have lost RS series against all 3 teams they have beat in playoffs.

[Sweet Serenity]

Series is going 4-7 games tops. Book it.