Celtics Versus Mavs, Who You Got?

When the NBA’s 78th Season started in Oct 24 last year, no one would have thought that the Finals would end up with the Boston Celtics pitted against the Dallas Mavericks. Of course, the Celtics were considered shoo-ins to reach deep into the playoffs, having finished second in the Eastern conference last year. And beefing up the team further with the acquisition of 2 stars – Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis – had improved the starting 5 even more. But who would have thought that the Mavs would conquer the star-studded Western Conference after fizzling out awkwardly despite the arrival of fan-favorite and former champ, Kyrie Irving?

The Celtics finished the regular season comfortably ahead of the Eastern pack. Toting an impressive 64 win – 18 loss record, they were a whopping 14 games ahead of the East’s runner-ups, the New York Knicks. Previously, the Celtics had amassed a 57-25 record. This significant improvement only affirmed that the addition of Holiday and Porzingis, coupled with the playoff experience of the young team acquired in the past years, have definitely matured the team further. Holiday brings in a lucky charm, having earned an NBA ring with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. Porzingis, on the other hand, provides a unique threat from inside and out, making the team even more lethal offensively. Team them up with the Celtics’ resident stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, add in a steady operator in Derrick White and the veteran Al Horford, and you have a solid crew that you can rely on.

On the other hand, you have the giant-killing Dallas Mavericks, who have 2 stars and a cast of characters who were virtual unknowns before suddenly being transformed into ferocious fighters this year. The keys to the transformation of this unit from an absentee in last year’s playoff, to its dramatic entry into this season’s NBA Finals are two-fold. First, Kyrie Irving’s acceptance as Luka’s wingman, forming a deadly 1-2 punch for the Mavs. And second, the arrival of its miracle 2nd line, composed of PJ Washington, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. All 3 are now part of the Mavs solid rotation, and these newbies have been largely responsible for the night-to-day difference in the team’s offensive and defensive mindsets.

But the more crucial item in the Mavs transformation would have to be Kyrie and his settling for a secondary, yet very significant role in the team, next to Luka Doncic. Kyrie had built up a not-so-good reputation previous to this year. He left King Lebron James in Cleveland for the Boston Celtics in pursuit of a team he could call his own. He then left Boston after failing to get the young guns of the Celtics to follow his beat. And, after failing to make sweet music with Kevin Durant and the Nets, he jumped ship once again to join the Mavs last year. When the Mavs collapsed upon his arrival, critics were quick to conclude that it was the bad vibes, or the lack of synergy between him and their resident star, Luka, that KO’ed the team’s chances. How do you keep the 2 guards happy without the ball in their hands most of the time? What is an equitable number of ball touches for each one? Who gets to shoot the ball in the closing seconds of a close game?

But it seems that the 2 guards have cleared matters, and this has worked wonders for the team. Both realize that individually, they cannot carry the team to the top. Both realize that they need each other to take over every once in a while, to give the team a fighting chance till the last minutes. With 2 of the game’s best closers in the team, all the team needs to do is to keep the score close, and unleash the 2 in the last minute. And let their creativity take care of the rest. In the highly-competitive landscape in the NBA today, finding and taking advantage of the mismatches is one of the surest ways to victory. And who to better create those mismatches than Luka and Kyrie, 2 of the league’s most unstoppable guards with contrasting styles of attack.

In the Mavs-Twolves series, the initial match-ups favored the Twolves 3-2. The Twolves had Rudy Gobert, Karl Anthony Towns and and Anthony Edwards winning their match-ups, while the Mavs’ Luka and Kyrie took the guard match-ups. Despite the match-ups favoring the Twolves, the Mavs were able to shift the focus to the guard wars, which eventually decided the series in favor of the Mavs.

Following the same principle, the Mavs hope to take the battle into the domain of the guards. If the preponderance of action is along this area, expect the Mavs to score an upset. If the Mavs fail to influence this, then expect the Celtics to take the crown. Just like the Mavs – Twolves series, the Celtics have a big advantage at the frontcourt, with the match-ups against Jaylen Brown at 3, Jayson Tatum at 4 and Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford at 5. As for the backcourt face-offs, the Kyrie vs Derrick White, and the Luka vs Jrue Holiday match-ups will favor the Mavs once again. And the Mavs are too familiar with the mix-and-match in this playing field.

Looking at their contrasting paths leading to the Finals, the Celtics brought down the lower-ranked Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers both in 5 games, before sweeping the Indiana Pacers to reach their second NBA Finals in 3 years. The 5th seeded Mavs, on the other hand, downed the 4th-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in 6 games, and the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 games as well. They then dispatched the 2nd-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in 5 games to reach the NBA Finals. The Celtics had an easy 12-2 path to the Finals, while the Mavs, underdogs all throughout, had a rougher dogfight slate of 12-5 in the more competitive Western Conference.

That said, it seems that the Celtics will come in well-rested, but less tested for the Finals. And the Celtics were very tentative in their sweep of the Pacers, despite the injury to the Pacers’ main man, Tyrese Haliburton. The Mavs, however, will come in peaking at just the right time, with their supporting cast now brimming with confidence. The Celtics may have won their 2 regular season face-offs, but those games are not indicative of how this series will go, given that Dallas didn’t have Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington in their roster at that time. Their inclusion in the Mavs’ starting 5 has triggered a big improvement both in the offense and defense. In fact, since the trade deadline, Dallas has been one of the NBA’s hottest teams, going 21-7 with wins in nine of its last 10 regular season games, carrying them to the 5th seed in the west.

The Celtics were solid during the regular season, and are still smarting from the epic loss to the Miami Heat in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. The Mavericks may not have been convincing as serious contenders during the regular season, but the Mavs’ backcourt – now in complete harmony with each other – has been devastating during these playoffs. The Celtics are the prohibitive favorites in this series and have homecourt advantage. But the Mavericks have won seven of their nine road games during these playoffs, and their confidence has soared sky-high. The Celtics obtained the regular season honors, but the Mavs racked up the more difficult playoff-war medals. This should be a close one, but I’ve got the Mavs scoring yet another upset here. Who you got?

Cover pick courtesy of Celtics Bolg, Boston Herald, Instagram and HoopsHype. Other photos courtesy of Hardwood Heroics, BetMGM, Celtics Blog and the New York Times. For a closer look, just click on the pics.