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

[Yinwest]

Can someone please bump that idiotic OKC experience thread?

[MrGoat]

I don't think I'm going to place any bets on this series but it's still fun to think of what bets I would place if I was going to.

If I was to place bets I would like the overs in this series. I think Dallas needs a defensive adjustment from their last three series if they want to win, daring Boston to shoot too many threes and abandoning the paint isn't the answer here. I don't think Boston has the right personnel to deal with Luka either, too many perimeter defenders and not enough thugs. Luka eats elite perimeter defenders for breakfast, you have to thug it up with him and hope the refs have a loose whistle

I'm not a gambler but if I thought the Mavs were winning this series I'd be very tempted to put some money down. Mavs in 7 has the same exact betting odds as Celtics in 4.

Read on Twitter

I very rarely bet on who's going to win. I rarely bet at all to be honest. Last bet I made was OKC game 6, when I heard Tony Brothers was reffing I bet on Luka to have 5+ turnovers. It makes me a terrible Mavs fan but I was right and made a nice pile on that bet

[AussieCeltic]

First thing I’m watching for is if Celtics switch their centers when luka runs pick and roll. Will the Celtics put their centers on Derrick jones or pj Washington to force luka to use those guys as screeners?

The Celtics have done a good job this postseason of hitting the pressure points and hunting the right matchups. Will the mavs double when Tatum/brown hunt Luka/kyrie?

If the Celtics continue to hit the right notes especially in crunch time, it’s their series. If Luka leads the dance and stresses the Celtics centers then mavs have a good chance.

This should be fun so let’s get it!

It will be similar to this. They’ll try bring KP into the ball screen but he’ll keep pre switching to stay low.

Read on Twitter

There are ways around it for the Mavs, like KPs man being isolated on the weak side before screening, but Mavs have to make quick decisions or he’ll just stay low.

[AussieCeltic]

Read on Twitter

[Mr B]

I cannot wait for this series to start and for Mavs fans to be confused why they can't score as effectively as they did on the "league best d".

We just pretend like matchups don't exist when it fits the narrative we are trying to push.

You talked just as pretending as TWolves telling us Luka could score on OKC, but not against Edwards/McDaniels/Gobert lineup.

I'm not talking about Luka, I'm talking about the Mavs.

In the OKC series Kyrie struggled. Luka will get his numbers but unless he gets help the Mavs won't win.

Mavs vs OKC:
Offrtg: 112
Defrtg: 111.8
Netrtg: 0.2

If the Mavs play like this against Boston, they will get swept and Boston has by far a better defense than the Thunder.

What if the Mavs play like they did in game 5 against the Wolves? Since we’re cherry picking series and games.

[Mr B]

First thing I’m watching for is if Celtics switch their centers when luka runs pick and roll. Will the Celtics put their centers on Derrick jones or pj Washington to force luka to use those guys as screeners?

The Celtics have done a good job this postseason of hitting the pressure points and hunting the right matchups. Will the mavs double when Tatum/brown hunt Luka/kyrie?

If the Celtics continue to hit the right notes especially in crunch time, it’s their series. If Luka leads the dance and stresses the Celtics centers then mavs have a good chance.

This should be fun so let’s get it!

You do realize that Luka can call for anyone to set the screen right? Luka will always get the more favorable matchup to switch on to him. It’s not just centers he picks on.

[Mr B]

Celtics fans going all in. Just can't figure out if this is NBA finals or kindergarten.

Luka is going to eat these fans up, and they don’t even know it. Lol

These fans have done the same thing over the years to Kobe, LeBron, the Rasheed / Billups Pistons, Wade, Durant and Giannis in the playoffs. I promise you that they don't give a crap about Luka.

Ohhh noooo...he's going to score 45??? The horror. It still won't be enough. And they'll make sure he knows it

Maybe that’s why you guys keep losing?

[manlisten]

Some might dismiss this as irrelevant but I think the gambling lines provide a very strong indicator of who will win this series. Boston might be favored but they are the weaker team entering the Finals. They swept Indiana but only covered once in 4 games whereas the Mavs covered in 4/5 including winning outright as dogs in 3 games. The teams are trending in opposite directions as Dallas is peaking and Boston has been gradually becoming a less reliable cover all throughout the playoffs. I'd say Dallas has a great chance to Ride their momentum into an upset and I'd also expect them to cover game 1 if not steal it straight up.

[JJtheBricklayer]

Some might dismiss this as irrelevant but I think the gambling lines provide a very strong indicator of who will win this series. Boston might be favored but they are the weaker team entering the Finals. They swept Indiana but only covered once in 4 games whereas the Mavs covered in 4/5 including winning outright as dogs in 3 games. The teams are trending in opposite directions as Dallas is peaking and Boston has been gradually becoming a less reliable cover all throughout the playoffs. I'd say Dallas has a great chance to Ride their momentum into an upset and I'd also expect them to cover game 1 if not steal it straight up.

who can argue with this logic.

how many more wins do the Mavs get for covering?

man we really need thursday to get here asap. Just about the only thing I agree with is that I wouldnt be shocked if the Mavs steal game 1

[dkb964]

The Mavericks have a much better bench and they will need them to play well to win the series. If the Celtics do win when would there have been a worse top player to win it all other then Tatam? I think Tatum is easily a top 10 player and off of the top of my head I can only think of 6 or 7 guys at most I would take over him? Luka is just on a different tier of player. Tatum is at the top of the 2nd teir. If you iignore the 2015 fluke Igodala finals mvp win you would need to go back to Pierce in 2008 to argue that Tatam was the better player then the Finaks MVP winners in that time span.

[dakomish23]

This wait for game 1 is starting to break ppl

[AussieCeltic]

Some might dismiss this as irrelevant but I think the gambling lines provide a very strong indicator of who will win this series. Boston might be favored but they are the weaker team entering the Finals. They swept Indiana but only covered once in 4 games whereas the Mavs covered in 4/5 including winning outright as dogs in 3 games. The teams are trending in opposite directions as Dallas is peaking and Boston has been gradually becoming a less reliable cover all throughout the playoffs. I'd say Dallas has a great chance to Ride their momentum into an upset and I'd also expect them to cover game 1 if not steal it straight up.

Great logic.

Uses previous gambling lines to say Mavs are going to win. Completely dismisses the current gambling lines that say Celtics are favs.

If you think Mavs will win, you’ll get great value. Just bet them at $2.75:1 or be adventurous.

Mavs in 4 - $21
Mavs in 5 - $12
Mavs in 6 - $6
Mavs in 7 - $8

Amazing value there if you think Mavs will win.

[vulture]

First thing I’m watching for is if Celtics switch their centers when luka runs pick and roll. Will the Celtics put their centers on Derrick jones or pj Washington to force luka to use those guys as screeners?

The Celtics have done a good job this postseason of hitting the pressure points and hunting the right matchups. Will the mavs double when Tatum/brown hunt Luka/kyrie?

If the Celtics continue to hit the right notes especially in crunch time, it’s their series. If Luka leads the dance and stresses the Celtics centers then mavs have a good chance.

This should be fun so let’s get it!

You do realize that Luka can call for anyone to set the screen right? Luka will always get the more favorable matchup to switch on to him. It’s not just centers he picks on.

Oh I know he can but the centers are the easiest matchup and if they switch I’m curious to see if the Celtics double. They haven’t done that all season.

This chess match is going to be fun.

[vulture]

First thing I’m watching for is if Celtics switch their centers when luka runs pick and roll. Will the Celtics put their centers on Derrick jones or pj Washington to force luka to use those guys as screeners?

The Celtics have done a good job this postseason of hitting the pressure points and hunting the right matchups. Will the mavs double when Tatum/brown hunt Luka/kyrie?

If the Celtics continue to hit the right notes especially in crunch time, it’s their series. If Luka leads the dance and stresses the Celtics centers then mavs have a good chance.

This should be fun so let’s get it!

It will be similar to this. They’ll try bring KP into the ball screen but he’ll keep pre switching to stay low.

Read on Twitter

There are ways around it for the Mavs, like KPs man being isolated on the weak side before screening, but Mavs have to make quick decisions or he’ll just stay low.

This cat and mouse game is what I’m interested in the most. If the Celtics pre switching like this luka might just go to an empty side pick and roll to still get horford or KP.
Appreciate the clip man.

[srhcan]

Read on Twitter

This Game 1 is the best chance of Mavs to steal a win from Celtics as KP will be rusty and Celtics will need time to accommodate him. Still Celtics in 5 looks like the best bet as per odds.

[azcatz11]

Can someone please bump that idiotic OKC experience thread?

What thread are you referring too?

[brackdan70]

First thing I’m watching for is if Celtics switch their centers when luka runs pick and roll. Will the Celtics put their centers on Derrick jones or pj Washington to force luka to use those guys as screeners?

The Celtics have done a good job this postseason of hitting the pressure points and hunting the right matchups. Will the mavs double when Tatum/brown hunt Luka/kyrie?

If the Celtics continue to hit the right notes especially in crunch time, it’s their series. If Luka leads the dance and stresses the Celtics centers then mavs have a good chance.

This should be fun so let’s get it!

You do realize that Luka can call for anyone to set the screen right? Luka will always get the more favorable matchup to switch on to him. It’s not just centers he picks on.

Who is he going to pick on?

[agentofatlas]

Read on Twitter

This Game 1 is the best chance of Mavs to steal a win from Celtics as KP will be rusty and Celtics will need time to accommodate him. Still Celtics in 5 looks like the best bet as per odds.

I wouldn't count on it. The Mavs suck in game 1s and after long layoffs.

As for the series, It's really hard to see a scenario where the Mavs win 4 games. The deck is just stacked too much in the Celtics favor in terms of talent.

Even with KP back, I think the Mavs need to stay big in order to have a chance at this series. I know the numbers are good with Maxi at the 5 and Gafford kinda sucks in space but I feel like they need to control the paint to have a shot.

[MrBigShot]

I think people are underrating the Mavs a bit. I like the celtics odds if Porzingis is healthy enough to contribute, but I expect it to be a close series.

[BeiBeau]

You talked just as pretending as TWolves telling us Luka could score on OKC, but not against Edwards/McDaniels/Gobert lineup.

I'm not talking about Luka, I'm talking about the Mavs.

In the OKC series Kyrie struggled. Luka will get his numbers but unless he gets help the Mavs won't win.

Mavs vs OKC:
Offrtg: 112
Defrtg: 111.8
Netrtg: 0.2

If the Mavs play like this against Boston, they will get swept and Boston has by far a better defense than the Thunder.

What if the Mavs play like they did in game 5 against the Wolves? Since we’re cherry picking series and games.

The Celtics doubled Kyrie for most of that series because Luka was hobbled. Luka is much healthier. If the Cs double Kyrie and leave Luka in a 1v1 he will cook. Can ignore the context.