The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are scheduled to meet in the 2024 NBA Finals. Basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson commented on the matchup.
his X's official accountSpeaking on his Twitter account formerly known as Twitter, Johnson said the Celtics' depth gives them an advantage over the Mavericks.
“Each team has two superstars: Luka and Kyrie for the Mavs and Jason and Jalen for the Celtics. But overall, when you look at the talent advantage, the Celtics are better. They have the second-best player in the series in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. And if Kristaps Porzingis plays, he'll be the third!”
While Johnson acknowledged that the Celtics have a good chance of winning the championship, he believes the Mavericks have a good chance of beating the favorites.
“The Celtics were supposed to win the series, but I've seen the most talented teams lose before. Remember the 2004 Finals between the Lakers and Pistons? Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Ben Wallace beat my Lakers, who had four Hall of Famers in Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. They even had Horace Grant!”
Johnson provided a summary analysis of the series.
“The Mavericks definitely have a chance to win as they are a team on top of their game right now and playing with confidence and swagger! Luka and Kyrie won't have the luxury of resting on defense like they did against the Timberwolves as every starter on this Celtics team is a scoring threat. Another big difference in this series is that Dallas can't tolerate Luka and Kyrie getting into foul trouble, whereas the Celtics have more depth on their bench and can handle a situation where Jalen or Jason get into foul trouble and miss a game!”
