After two blink-and-you'll-miss-it conference finals, the final stretch to the NBA pinnacle is finally upon us. The 2024 NBA Finals, featuring the Eastern Conference champions Boston Celtics facing off against the Western Conference champions Dallas Mavericks, will kick off at 8:30pm ET on Thursday, June 6th at TD Garden.
If you've looked at your calendar lately, you may have noticed that “Thursday, June 6” is a full week away. We at Yahoo Sports are committed to helping you kill time (we really do) by bringing you all kinds of articles, podcasts and videos to help you get ready for the grand finale of the 2023-24 NBA season.
For now, we're here to give you a little snack. Not a full-on series preview, but something to snack on before dinner. Here are some of my thoughts as we prepare for the Celtics vs. Mavericks game with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy on the line.
Have the Celtics finished warming up yet?
Yes, Boston got lucky in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Due to injuries, the Celtics opened the playoff series against a Miami Heat team without longtime nemesis Jimmy Butler, then faced a Cleveland Cavaliers team without ace rim protector Jarrett Allen and All-Star point guard Donovan Mitchell and backup guard Caris LeVert, then advanced to the conference finals to face an Indiana Pacers team without All-NBA facilitator Tyrese Haliburton for the final 2.5 games.
But while many could argue that Boston's run through the Eastern Division was one of the easiest routes to the Finals in NBA history, it's worth noting that the most experienced, skilled and by far the best C's team of this era did exactly what it had to do, winning three series just two games over the minimum required.
Miami's first loss came on a night they set a franchise playoff record for 3-pointers made. Their second loss was an uncharacteristic Miami performance, resulting in their second-worst defensive rating all season. Outside of that, they've been very good, outscoring opponents by more than 10 points per 100 possessions in the postseason. They've also shined when it matters, outscoring opponents by 18 points in 19 minutes when they were within five points in the final five minutes.
It's one thing to get lucky, but another to capitalize on it, and the Celtics have done just that, returning to the biggest stage in sports… and facing an incredibly dangerous opponent.
Will Boston's wide defenders be able to slow down Luka and Kyrie?
Speaking of “pretty good”…
When the Mavericks traded two rotation players, a first-round draft pick and two second-round draft picks to pair Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic at the 2023 NBA trade deadline, Nico Harrison, Jason Kidd and others had in mind an offense that could overwhelm even the best defenses in the business with its shot-creation and tough shot-making in tight spaces.
Dallas' dynamic duo dominated Minnesota in the Western Finals, alternating between killer plays: Kyrie's 24 first-half points and Luka's 15 in the fourth quarter in Game 1, Kyrie's 13 in the final quarter and Luka's step-back game-winner in Game 2, Luka's 11 in the third quarter and Kyrie's 14 in the fourth quarter in Game 3, and Luka's 20-point opening salvo and Kyrie's second 15-point win to decide Game 5. The shots, passes, moves off the dribble, and off-script fancy plays stood out as being replicated by very few players in the world.
This playmaking combination was too much for the Clippers, Thunder and Timberwolves to handle: As the Mavericks roared through the West, they outscored opponents by 9.1 points per 100 possessions with their two star guards on the court, but those opponents didn't have the elite wing options available at the point of attack in Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Will Luka and Kyrie be able to create enough separation for themselves against a swarm of high-caliber perimeter defenders, or will Boston not only start a strong, physical defender on them, but also switch an extra defender or two onto them during possessions, disrupting the incredible on-ball rhythm established by Doncic and Irving, the best players in this series who just completely destroyed the Timberwolves?
Is Kristaps Porzingis ready?
By the time Game 1 begins, it will have been 39 days since Porzingis last played in an NBA game. If he continues his recovery since injuring his left soleus, he could return to not only Boston's biggest game of the season, but the biggest game of his career, which is uncharted territory for a player who has never played in a game after the first round in nine NBA seasons.
To play at full strength after about six weeks of rest is a big challenge in itself. In this situation, under the brightest lights in the sports world, not only is your team a favorite to win, Be expected That Dallas team acquired you as the missing piece of their championship puzzle, then sent you off because they didn't think you could be that piece anymore, and then you go on to win a title against that Dallas team? terrible There's a lot to address.
If Porzingis is ready to deal with it — if he's fully functional and close to being ambulatory — he could end up being the missing piece of the puzzle. To prevent Dallas wins it all. Delicious, delicious ironing.
Porzingis' return gives Boston optimal spacing again on offense, drawing Dallas centers Daniel Gafford and Derek Lively II away from the paint, where Boston has spent much of the past month and a half suffocating the Clippers, Thunder and Timberwolves' half-court attacks, or allowing pick-and-pop 3-pointers. He offers an answer inside if Dallas starts switching screens. A walking mismatch, Porzingis may not have been able to consistently beat smaller defenders on the block when he was in a Mavericks uniform, but he's done it very well in the green of the Celtics.
Meanwhile, Porzingis provided top-notch rim protection and auxiliary length behind the first defensive line, making things even tougher for a Boston unit that finished third in defensive efficiency during the regular season. The Celtics allowed 2.8 fewer points per 100 minutes with Porzingis, the 7-foot-3 Latvian, on the court.
Dallas, of course, just handily beat two top-five defenses backed by giant shot blockers and has a devastating isolation scorer who can force mismatches and make those giants look utterly foolish. Luka will switch to target his old running buddy and force Porzingis to prove his left calf is healthy. Boston can only hope that 39 days of rehab will give the big man enough flexibility to keep up along the perimeter and away from Doncic's ever-growing highlight reel.
Is this a Jayson Tatum moment?
Tatum has been criticized by some for his disappointing shooting efficiency in this playoff season (44.2% from the field, just 29% from 3-point range) and for leaning too heavily on contested pull-up jump shots and not attacking the basket as much. But the 26-year-old Tatum is the linchpin of Boston's two-way attack, grabbing rebounds and distributing the ball at a career-best level this playoff season while averaging at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game for the third time in his career. Only Nikola Jokic (five playoff appearances) has bettered that. That sounds pretty impressive to me!
He has the ability to dominate games with his shot creation, shot making and consistent bottom-up, gap-filling play. In two regular-season meetings (both wins for the Celtics), Tatum dominated the Mavs, scoring 39 points on 21 shots, 11 rebounds and 5 assists…
… And finished with 32 points on 19 shots, eight rebounds and three assists.
Tatum has the strength to overpower Derrick Jones Jr., the quickness to rebound and beat P.J. Washington, the poise, vision and touch to make Dallas pay for giving him the space to drive and raise and the fitness to finish among the Mavericks' tall trees. Here's his chance — a chance to turn all those tools, all that experience, all the lessons learned from countless successes and gut-wrenching failures into a two-week winning streak that could bring him the biggest prize in sports…
Or is it Luke's?
…If the other person doesn't get it first.
In his last seven games dating back to the series with Oklahoma City, Doncic averaged just under 32 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while shooting .651 from the field. He tore down Minnesota's best defense in the league, forcing Chris Finch and company to go through menu after menu looking for any answer to slow him down…
The Timberwolves ran eight different coverages on Luka Doncic in Game 3.
It didn't matter: Doncic has seen it all, and he knows exactly how to break it down. pic.twitter.com/IeqaoQZJgG
— Eric Shapiro (@eric_shap) May 27, 2024
…And then he found himself staring into the barrel of a gun. this oh dear, this Full of confidence, there teeth There is no proper coverage.
Luka was the NBA's leading scorer this season. He has been selected to the All-NBA First Team for the fifth consecutive year and has finished in the top five for MVP three times, including a third-place nomination this season. He has won every game he has played so far, and now at 25 years old, he has a chance to add another stellar record to his most decorated resume. He has beaten the No. 1 seed in the West and the No. 1 defense in the NBA. If he can beat the team that has been the best in the league since the start of October, he can claim the championship and the crown that comes with it.
