After a grueling NBA Season with a lot of ups and downs, the NBA Finals are finally upon us. For both the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, it has been mostly ups. The Celtics have run rampant over their competition in the East. The Mavericks backcourt has put them in a solid position.
This will be Luka Doncic‘s first time on the big stage. Can Kyrie Irving‘s experience give the Mavericks enough of an edge? What advice does Kyrie give to his team? Regardless of any of that, the Mavs have earned their spot to be here. In order to get here, they had to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, all of whom were Top-4 in the Western Conference standings.
On the other side, the Celtics have been here before. Will this be the year that Jayson Tatum establishes himself as a star in the league? Can Jaylen Brown continue his hot stretch that earned him the Eastern Conference Finals MVP? How will the Celtics do against a fully-healthy Mavericks team?
There are going to be a lot of questions answered about these two teams in the coming days. When taking a look at starting lineups alone, Boston has the edge with five All-Star caliber players. Dallas has a two-headed monster with the rest of their lineup filled by role players that perfectly complement the duo.
Key Storylines
Three Point Attempts
This is one area where the Celtics could have another edge. There’s an 8% difference from beyond the arc between the Celtics (43.8%) and the Mavericks (35.7%). That’s a big difference in the playoffs. Dallas knows how to protect the rim (opponents shooting a measly 59.4% around the basket in the playoffs), but they’ll have to stretch themselves to the perimeter a little against this Boston squad. They’ll also have to shoot a little better.
Offensive Rebounding and Second Chance Points
Boston isn’t just an elite defensive rebounding team, they have allowed the fewest amount of second-chance points in the playoffs (8.3 per game). That’ll be put to the test against Dallas.
The Mavericks are second in both offensive rebounding rate (29.8%) and second-chance points per game (13.4). Porzingis will play a huge factor for Boston, when it comes to not allowing Dallas to rebound their own misses. The Mavericks offense must maximize their offensive possessions against this Celtics defense.
Series schedule (all times Eastern)
Game 1: Thursday @ Boston (8:30 p.m., ABC)
Game 2: Sunday @ Boston (8 p.m., ABC)
Game 3: Wed., June 12 @ Dallas (8:30 p.m., ABC)
Game 4: Fri., June 14 @ Dallas (8:30 p.m., ABC)
*Game 5: Mon., June 17 @ Boston (8:30 p.m., ABC)
*Game 6: Thu., June 20 @ Dallas (8:30 p.m., ABC)
*Game 7: Sun., June 23 @ Boston (8 p.m., ABC)
*if necessary
Series odds
Boston Celtics (-225)
Dallas Mavericks (+188)
Prediction
Celtics in 6.
Dallas had a tougher time against the Thunder than any other team they faced. With Porzingis back in the mix, Boston is just a bigger, better and more balanced version of the Thunder. They have more experience in big games and their roster features more high-level shot creators and shot makers. They have been the best team in the NBA since the season started and it’s not even close.
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