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

[Bob8]

Bolded as you probably missed it. It's enough for KP drawing Mavs Cs away from the post and defend.

I like Brown more than Tatum so agree on MVP comment.

You don't need Lively on KP, it could be Kleber or Washington or even someone smaller, but you have to play aggressively on him before he gets the ball, risk some fouls too. In first half they just let him to take the position wherever he likes, he hit few shots and became hot. You can't defend those 30 ft shots anyway, but you can be aggressive on him.

So you bench one of your more important players to get to the finals and play Kleber who hesitates to shoot open 3. Sounds like a plan.

Kleber is 4 not 5, you can play Kleber and Lively together. You can play Kleber, Lively and Washington together, because Washington can play on 3. I would for sure try that, when KP is on court. In that case you have 4 players, who can guard KP, because Luka is big enough too.

But all that won't matter, if Kyrie can't play in this series. Mavs need 25 on good efficiency from him.

[SalsaNchips]

The BEST odds you can get on the Celtics winning it all now are -400 (that's 1.25 in decimal odds)

https://www.oddschecker.com/us/basketball/nba/nba-championship/winner

The statisticians have seen enough, it's over. We should now move on to discussions of whether this Celtics team is a dynasty or not

Probably not. It’s an expensive roster to keep together

[ajones9219]

Mavs made adjustments in second half already, but it was too late after being down 28.

They lost because KP was unstoppable in first half and Kyrie had the worst game in playoffs, missing wide open shots, which he normally doesn't miss.

I hope role players just takes those 3s in next game instead going in the paint and getting blocked.

So what's the excuse going to be when game 2 goes literally the same as game 1? Luka with a lot of points, a -10 to -20 net rating and a Boston win by double figures

There's no excuses, if Boston wins, they're better team, hats down.

Mavs played more or less similarity in game 1 in Clippers and OKC series and didn't panic, I doubt they will start panic now.

You know how +/- work, you can't be in +, if your team is losing big. As you can't be in -, if your team is winning big, even if you play like ****. What was KP doing to the Mavs in first half has nothing to do with Tatum. He basically finished them alone with incredible performance in first half.

I know how plus minus works...and Luka seems to always finish minus against Boston in a losing effort.

Kp played like he has all year. He goes on massive spurts and the Mavs have no real answer for him.

This game went basically textbook the same as it has every time they play. At what point do we accept the obvious here? Boston is the more talented team and is a bad matchup for the Mavs

[sunsbg]

Kleber is 4 not 5, you can play Kleber and Lively together. You can play Kleber, Lively and Washington together, because Washington can play on 3.

Two inconsistent and one non-existent outside shooters and who's Lively defending if he's not on KP ? I understand you are trying to find positives from Mavs POV, but it's like you think only Mavs can make adjustments. Celtics are a lot more fluid team in that regard.

[Bob8]

So what's the excuse going to be when game 2 goes literally the same as game 1? Luka with a lot of points, a -10 to -20 net rating and a Boston win by double figures

There's no excuses, if Boston wins, they're better team, hats down.

Mavs played more or less similarity in game 1 in Clippers and OKC series and didn't panic, I doubt they will start panic now.

You know how +/- work, you can't be in +, if your team is losing big. As you can't be in -, if your team is winning big, even if you play like ****. What was KP doing to the Mavs in first half has nothing to do with Tatum. He basically finished them alone with incredible performance in first half.

I know how plus minus works...and Luka seems to always finish minus against Boston in a losing effort.

Kp played like he has all year. He goes on massive spurts and the Mavs have no real answer for him.

This game went basically textbook the same as it has every time they play. At what point do we accept the obvious here? Boston is the more talented team and is a bad matchup for the Mavs

How can anyone, who plays more or less nonstop finish, if his team is losing by 20? They came to 8 points, but unfortunately Kyrie couldn't hit anything yesterday. And after Celtics went to 15+, it was over.

[Bob8]

Kleber is 4 not 5, you can play Kleber and Lively together. You can play Kleber, Lively and Washington together, because Washington can play on 3.

Two inconsistent and one non-existent outside shooters and who's Lively defending if he's not on KP ? I understand you are trying to find positives from Mavs POV, but it's like you think only Mavs can make adjustments. Celtics are a lot more fluid team in that regard.

Mavs have full roster of inconsistent shooters.

Look, sky is always falling, when you lose by blowout, but things can change very quickly in Nba. Mavs came in Boston to steal 1 game, they didn't succeed in game 1 and have another opportunity in 3 days time. Key is Kyrie. I expect Luka in beast mode too.

[sunsbg]

Mavs has full roster of inconsistent shooters.

Look, sky is always falling, when you lose by blowout, but things can change very quickly in Nba. Mavs came in Boston to steal 1 game, they didn't succeed in game 1 and have another opportunity in 3 days time. Key is Kyrie. I expect Luka in beast mode too.

As I said I have not written off the Mavs. Winning 1 game in Boston will not decide the series either. The thing is, based on last two games between those two teams with their current rosters, the Celtics look like a big favorite. If Celtics stay healthy and Mavs pull it off and win a title it'll be well deserved.

[ajones9219]

There's no excuses, if Boston wins, they're better team, hats down.

Mavs played more or less similarity in game 1 in Clippers and OKC series and didn't panic, I doubt they will start panic now.

You know how +/- work, you can't be in +, if your team is losing big. As you can't be in -, if your team is winning big, even if you play like ****. What was KP doing to the Mavs in first half has nothing to do with Tatum. He basically finished them alone with incredible performance in first half.

I know how plus minus works...and Luka seems to always finish minus against Boston in a losing effort.

Kp played like he has all year. He goes on massive spurts and the Mavs have no real answer for him.

This game went basically textbook the same as it has every time they play. At what point do we accept the obvious here? Boston is the more talented team and is a bad matchup for the Mavs

How can anyone, who plays more or less nonstop finish, if his team is losing by 20? They came to 8 points, but unfortunately Kyrie couldn't hit anything yesterday. And after Celtics went to 15+, it was over.

So your argument is Luka isn't really playing poorly...because his team is getting torched every game? Also Kyrie is 0-11 against the Celtics. I wouldn't expect a huge series from him.

[zimpy27]

Look the poll for game 1 before it started was like 3-1 for Boston.

The poll for series was pretty much 1-1 with slight lean to Boston.

I think most understood game 1 was likely a Boston win. I think Mavs win game 2.

[Bob8]

Mavs has full roster of inconsistent shooters.

Look, sky is always falling, when you lose by blowout, but things can change very quickly in Nba. Mavs came in Boston to steal 1 game, they didn't succeed in game 1 and have another opportunity in 3 days time. Key is Kyrie. I expect Luka in beast mode too.

As I said I have not written off the Mavs. Winning 1 game in Boston will not decide the series either. The thing is, based on last two games between those two teams with their current rosters, the Celtics look like a big favorite. If Celtics stay healthy and Mavs pull it off and win a title it'll be well deserved.

Mavs plan in this series was always something like that,

You will be blownout few times, don't overreact and hope you have at least 4 good games from both Luka and Kyrie. Impossible to win if 1 is off.

[Bob8]

I know how plus minus works...and Luka seems to always finish minus against Boston in a losing effort.

Kp played like he has all year. He goes on massive spurts and the Mavs have no real answer for him.

This game went basically textbook the same as it has every time they play. At what point do we accept the obvious here? Boston is the more talented team and is a bad matchup for the Mavs

How can anyone, who plays more or less nonstop finish, if his team is losing by 20? They came to 8 points, but unfortunately Kyrie couldn't hit anything yesterday. And after Celtics went to 15+, it was over.

So your argument is Luka isn't really playing poorly...because his team is getting torched every game? Also Kyrie is 0-11 against the Celtics. I wouldn't expect a huge series from him.

You had a feeling that Luka played poorly in first 3Q? He more or less singlehanded brought Mavs to 8, scoring 27 points late in Q3, if in that moment Kyrie could hit few open shots, who knows what would have happened. Q4 was just a formality. You for sure can't blame Luka for yesterday's game.

[ajones9219]

How can anyone, who plays more or less nonstop finish, if his team is losing by 20? They came to 8 points, but unfortunately Kyrie couldn't hit anything yesterday. And after Celtics went to 15+, it was over.

So your argument is Luka isn't really playing poorly...because his team is getting torched every game? Also Kyrie is 0-11 against the Celtics. I wouldn't expect a huge series from him.

You had a feeling that Luka played poorly in first 3Q? He more or less singlehanded brought Mavs to 8, scoring 27 points late in Q3, if in that moment Kyrie could hit few open shots, who knows what would have happened. You for sure can't blame Luka for yesterday's game.

Luka did what he always does. Carry a huge offensive load while getting torched on defense. He was fine.

The Celtics are happy to let Luka score 50 points if he'd like and just shut down everyone else. You can't win that way and it just wears Luka down. Bro looked gassed in the 4th.

[Berbasecks]

How can anyone, who plays more or less nonstop finish, if his team is losing by 20? They came to 8 points, but unfortunately Kyrie couldn't hit anything yesterday. And after Celtics went to 15+, it was over.

So your argument is Luka isn't really playing poorly...because his team is getting torched every game? Also Kyrie is 0-11 against the Celtics. I wouldn't expect a huge series from him.

You had a feeling that Luka played poorly in first 3Q? He more or less singlehanded brought Mavs to 8, scoring 27 points late in Q3, if in that moment Kyrie could hit few open shots, who knows what would have happened. Q4 was just a formality. You for sure can't blame Luka for yesterday's game.

Luka FG 46.2%, 3PT 33.3% - not great - not terrible
Rest of team FG 39.6% 3PT 20% - you just can't win like this

[NoStatsGuy]

The BEST odds you can get on the Celtics winning it all now are -400 (that's 1.25 in decimal odds)

https://www.oddschecker.com/us/basketball/nba/nba-championship/winner

The statisticians have seen enough, it's over. We should now move on to discussions of whether this Celtics team is a dynasty or not

the statisticians dont account for LUKA MAGIC

[The Corey's]

Someone is gonna be eating a lot of crow soon. I almost applaud the doubling down. Almost.

Tatum and Brown finsihed about 25 points short of their playoff total avg.

That won't continue all series so this idea that somehow the Celtics got lucky is laughable to me. You didn't get their best effort and they still dominated.

[hugepatsfan]

7 of the 8 primary rotation players for the Celtics hit 2+ 3s. The 8th guy is Pritchard who is a ~40% type guy and just had a bad night. If you rely on help defense at the rim, the Celtics will be a tough matchup for you. They play a true 5 out offense at all times. If you help off someone at the rim, a good shooter is left open somewhere. That’s just the way it is.

Celtics made a lot of 3s but they didn’t shoot some crazy percentage. They shot 38%. They just smother you with volume of 3s. They have too many good shooters to not generate a quality 3 point shot pretty much anytime down the floor.

[chrisab123]

The BEST odds you can get on the Celtics winning it all now are -400 (that's 1.25 in decimal odds)

https://www.oddschecker.com/us/basketball/nba/nba-championship/winner

The statisticians have seen enough, it's over. We should now move on to discussions of whether this Celtics team is a dynasty or not

Probably not. It’s an expensive roster to keep together

Ownership has said that they want to keep the core together. Al will retire this year or next. Guys like Kornet will probably leave via FA.

[hagredionis]

I know how plus minus works...and Luka seems to always finish minus against Boston in a losing effort.

Kp played like he has all year. He goes on massive spurts and the Mavs have no real answer for him.

This game went basically textbook the same as it has every time they play. At what point do we accept the obvious here? Boston is the more talented team and is a bad matchup for the Mavs

How can anyone, who plays more or less nonstop finish, if his team is losing by 20? They came to 8 points, but unfortunately Kyrie couldn't hit anything yesterday. And after Celtics went to 15+, it was over.

So your argument is Luka isn't really playing poorly...because his team is getting torched every game? Also Kyrie is 0-11 against the Celtics. I wouldn't expect a huge series from him.

Luka isn't really playing poorly because he isn't. He had 30 pts and 10 rebounds playing against elite defenders. The main reason the Mavs lost is everybody else expect Luka played poorly. Kyrie only scored 12 points shooting 6 out of 19 and 0 out of 5 from three. You can't win against the Celtics if your second best player plays like that, he needs to play much better for the Mavs to even have a chance.

[The Corey's]

Mavs gonna adjust for KP? Lol

How are you gonna contain Tatum all series while simultaneously focusing on stopping KP?

KP avg 20 a game. He had 20. He will continue to get his.

[jayjaysee]

7 of the 8 primary rotation players for the Celtics hit 2+ 3s. The 8th guy is Pritchard who is a ~40% type guy and just had a bad night. If you rely on help defense at the rim, the Celtics will be a tough matchup for you. They play a true 5 out offense at all times. If you help off someone at the rim, a good shooter is left open somewhere. That’s just the way it is.

Celtics made a lot of 3s but they didn’t shoot some crazy percentage. They shot 38%. They just smother you with volume of 3s. They have too many good shooters to not generate a quality 3 point shot pretty much anytime down the floor.

I think Dallas could have maybe kept it close if that’s all it was? Dallas could have kept it close if they stuck to an offense and let Boston beat them by shooting threes..

The game was a blowout because Boston is the better team and better coached team. No one talking about the smart plays Jrue made on both sides in the first..

And when you allow Boston to set their offense and switch guards on KP for that maybe plays 8-10~ in a 6-8 minute period? Was like 5-6 from inside 1-2 from outside in 8 minutes or something, right? And you look and see Dallas let Josh Green and DJJ, etc get matched up and didn’t do anything about it..

And instead of a timeout or a steady vet slowing down the offense and calling it out, you have one after another of Hardy, Kyrie, Luka, PJ, etc doing mainly rushed inefficient-iso drives/pop ups without setting a play, even a screen.. closest was just throwing ugly lobs up and acting surprised when KP was taller than everyone else..

I have no idea if a timeout in between Dallas going back and forth and it being tied, Dallas down by 10, Dallas down by 20+ would have helped or if actually sticking to the offense would have mattered, as Boston is the better team… But I am pretty sure if Dallas plays loose like that and tries to match Boston’s shots, it will be another fun series for Celtic fans?