Finals 2024 - G1 - Mavs @ Celtics (Thursd., 8:30PMEST)

[41Dirk41]

Mavs have 0 chances until both Luka and Kyrie have both very good game, forcing Boston to change D. Until then, we won't see dunks, corner 3s and Boston will block shots. 60+ game is minimum from both, probably 70 is needed. That means Luka will need to go for 40.

That's sure but don't penetrate when Porz is under the rim can help

Mavs have completely wrong the game plan, offensively and defensively.

Luka can penetrate, Porzi is not moving away from Cs. He just has to take 15 floaters. DJJ and Josh shouldn't move from the perimeter.

Yes of course i'm talking about DJJ, Josh and others.

KP biggest issue are the lateral moviments, we have to move him... If he can stay under the rim waiting for a block he is a monster.
And on the offensive end we need to push him and be physical because he often lose the balance before to shoot.
He can't play post (Luka steals easily the ball from his hands).

I saw a team completely unprepared to play against KP. That's inexcusable in 2024.

[41Dirk41]

If Luka wants to be next Jordan he has to win those Finals. MJ never lost a NBA Finals. No excuses.

And please stop acting like Maxi Kleber is the savoir of this Mavs, ok he can defend but he still is 2+0+1 20mins guy.
If at least he didn't even pass the shots
Kidd needs to figure out how we can play with Lively or Gafford against the Celtics, if we play small ball for matching them we are done.
They are too better than us.

[Teffer10]

Honestly I've been thinking all week that we need to win one of the first 2 games to have any chance in this series.
I thought game 1 would be our best chance but i now see game 2 as a must win game.

[41Dirk41]

Honestly I've been thinking all week that we need to win one of the first 2 games to have any chance in this series.
I thought game 1 would be our best chance but i now see game 2 as a must win game.

Usual Kidd preparation series+KP best 20minutes of his career+our role players can't make a 3s+Kyrie worst game in Mavs uniform = easy L.

[Darren]

Force Brown / Tatum to guard the best perimeter shooter on the perimeter.  And take out the forward help defense in paint.  Then, you get better spacing to dunk, to shoot and to draw fouls.  Practice to draw 3 foul shots in Bargnani manner.  No way they can protect the paint and the arc at the same time without spending much fouls or energy.  If Lively is confident to shoot, shoot from corner as well.  Tatum has no business to guard your jumpers.

[Darren]

This is the 3 blocks from Brown and KP making the difference. Play smart. Take them away. KP is not that great as a defender. The Mavs missed a lot because they are outnumbered in paint. The driving routes are well channeled.

[Darren]

My thoughts are as follows....the Celtics did a good job turning Luka and Kyrie to one on one players. They pretty much took away the lob and their ability to find other guys. Luka had 1 assist. Kyrie had 4. Luka would have had a couple more assists if guys hit more shots but overall - their game plan was to limit him and Kyrie to one shot and take the pass away. Overll, they were successful in doing that. On the defensive end, the Mavs lacked the foot speed/fundamentals to stay in front of their ball handlers and even Porzingis at times.

I do not think the Mavs can consistently out-score Boston. Our role players are just too inconsistent (shooters) and make too many poor decisions with the ball. In the 2nd half we played with more aggression but by that time it was too late.

People are making a big deal of Kyrie scoring 12pts but in reality he missed a lot of shots around the basket. If Kyrie goes 9-19 (20pts) instead of 6-19 - we still lose this game b/c as a team we cannot consistently stay in front of their perimeter guys. We have played Boston 3 times (2 in reg season and this 1 game) and they have beat us handily in each. They simply do not respect our ability to stop them on the perimeter. Luka had 30 pts but we had very little ball movement in that first half and Luka probably gave up 10pts on the defensive end alone by not staying in front of his man or being out of position on rebounds.

Kyrie is very talented but a sensitive well intentioned person. Kobe Bryant was a very talent and aggressive person. The difference between Kyrie and Kobe was - Phil Jackson had to convince him to be less aggressive and include his teammates more at times. Kyrie on the other hand - (imo) forgets how talented he is and overthinks the game at times. Great players still need to be coached. Boston is long and very athletic and unlike Luka and Kobe - Kyrie is 6'2.5. He's going to have to change his approach against this team and play more like he did against Minny in game 1. Kyrie needs to be told instead of trying to get all the way to the basket - use his dribble and quickness to get to that mid-range and take those jumpers. Kyrie can get any shot he wants in the mid-range but he has to take those shots with confidence and be hella aggressive. Kyrie is like Randy Moss. One of the most talented to ever do it but sometimes his psyche is not right - he'll look like Randy Moss in Oakland oppose to the Randy Moss playing with the Vikings and with Tom brady. Great players still need the right environment and they need good coaches that u/s their psyche and how to get the best out of them. I hope Kidd sees what I see and helps Kyrie adjust his approach.

__________________

Good news? Kidd always seem to lose game 1s. So maybe this is typical.

What we must do going forward?

1. Pick up the pace a little bit, selectively. Get into our offense earlier. Maybe let Kyrie bring the ball up.

2. Take advantage when other guys have mismatches (PJ Washington on White, Gafford on Tatum, etc..resist temptation for Luka or Kyrie to do everything on offense...make it a point to get the other guys going early and often). They are trying to stay home so Luka cannot pass. Therefore, Kidd caught on in the 2nd half and starting going down to PJ and other mismatches. We have to do this at the start of the 2nd game. We need PJ to have a series like he did vs OKC.

3.We have to figure out how we're gonna defend these guys. This really is #1 issue. PERSONALLY, I THINK WE SHOULD SWITCH EVERYTHING AND STAY WITH THE SHOOTERS. I rather give up a 2 pt shot than keep giving up wide open 3s. I'll tell my guys you do not have help. Switch. Play one on one and if you get beat - do not foul. I would give them 1 shot and everything stay on their man and help rebound. I would try different strategies after that if needed. But i would start off playing that way. (if your worried about foot speed - just take a step back and force them to beat you with the shot overtop)


Last word: The players surrounding Brown and Tatum (btw kyrie had 12 pts - Tatum also had abt 12 with 6-7 minutes left in the 4th and just stayed in to pad his stats) which shows you how good/consistent the role players around brown and him are compared to Dallas. We have to remember they have at least 4 guys that have been on an allstar team or allstar caliber. We have some talent but limited offensive players to alley hoops or inconsistent shooting. At the end of the day, that's why we really lost this game. Kyrie played abt as well as Tatum and Luka played abt as well as Brown. But at the end of the day, their supporting cast is more experience and play at a higher caliber. Because of that - this is going to be a really tough series to win unless something changes. That's my 2 cents. Let's go Mavs! Hoping for the best!

Boston makes it clear before game 1. The Mavs know this game plan but come up with no answer. Kidd even talks about accepting the loss due to lacking talent. The loss is right there. While this is basically about LA-NJ Finals, it actually implies the Boston-Dallas series.

[41Dirk41]

Boston makes it clear before game 1. The Mavs know this game plan but come up with no answer. Kidd even talks about accepting the loss due to lacking talent. The loss is right there. While this is basically about LA-NJ Finals, it actually implies the Boston-Dallas series.

Man Kidd is still a joke, how can you compare those Finals? Did NJ had the best players on the court?

What a brainless coach.

[Darren]

Boston makes it clear before game 1. The Mavs know this game plan but come up with no answer. Kidd even talks about accepting the loss due to lacking talent. The loss is right there. While this is basically about LA-NJ Finals, it actually implies the Boston-Dallas series.

Man Kidd is still a joke, how can you compare those Finals? Did NJ had the best players on the court?

What a brainless coach.

That's exactly the problem. To translate it properly, coz Luka can't defense, PJ and Kyrie are short, DJJ is limited, Lively is still a rookie, we stand no chance to defend or attack.

[Darren]

That's ridiculous. Isn't Pheonix with Nash and Amare win something? Are the duo better defensively than Luka and Kyrie? Is Matrix taller than PJ? This is the coaching limitations instead of the players.

[Darren]

Blaming players lacking talent instead of taking responsibility. Just watching like you guy on the front row for free but get paid not doing the job right and perhaps with gambling income.

[Darren]

This kind of implication actually means disbelief that Luka can ever win the title because of the body frame.

[Darren]

If Luka and Kyrie win the individual matchup, playing iso-ball on one side with triangle offense in MJ manner you still win. It is Kidd making the spacing too good for Boston to set up defense and control the board.

[Darren]

If it is Don Nelson taking charge, the result could be way different.

[Darren]

Kyrie should have resolved the psychological stuff. If this team is led by Phil Jackson. This issue should have gone. If this team is led by Pop, Boston cannot win merely due to fundamentals.

[Darren]

Look at game 1, who shows up on court? Luka and Maxi, who are both trained by Rick Carlisle. Boston scheme is quite simple - blow by the defender dunking or kicking out the ball. Maxi is able to stay in front despite not matching the athleticism of Boston guards. There's something wrong with the fundamentals.

[Darren]

The daily training is not right. Even before the season, you know the opponents will wear down Luka and Kyrie. Why don't you develop more playmakers and elite shooters? Does it require a fatal sweep in Finals to learn? Kyrie is 32 now and will not get any younger. Webayama is coming. The time is now. You can't wait. Or else, Luka is winless the whole Mavs career.

[Darren]

You know KP is going to be major problem. How comes you don't call a timeout after Lively gets dunked on? This let Boston gets the rhythm to build a big lead the Mavs has no chance to overcome.