The NBA is notorious for making their postseason longer than a Christopher Nolan film, but the waiting has paid off as Game 1 is upon us. The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics are probably arriving to TD Garden to start getting ready for what hopes to be an exciting series. The Celtics came into the playoffs prohibitive favorites as no one could come within striking distance of the #1 seed in the regular season, finishing in first place by a whopping 14 games. Despite making it to five conference finals in seven years, they were only able to manage one finals appearance in that span, which they lost to Golden State in six games. With a fan base that has been spoiled with Super Bowls and Stanley Cups, they expect to win championships. To add another one to the resume, they will have to go through a Mavericks team led by one of the most dangerous shooters on the planet, Luka Doncic.
What to watch for in game 1:
Doncic possesses a very unique blend of size, speed and shooting ability that makes it very difficult for teams to find a good defensive matchup for him. If you try to guard him with a smaller forward, Luka’s mass naturally takes a toll after 2-3 quarters of him working the smaller body in the lane. I think C.J. McCollum said it best, “Luka is just a heavy dude, and after a while you get tired of guarding him”. When this happens you will see tired defense and an uptick in fouls against Luka, who has an innate ability to draw contact. On the opposite side of the coin, if you try to bring a center out to guard him, he will call for an isolation and dribble until he feels he can shake the defender and get an open look. A prime example was game 2 of the conference finals when he crossed up Rudy Gobert before hitting the game winning three. Keep an eye on how many different defenders guard Doncic in game 1, I imagine the Celtics will throw as many different defensive looks at the Mavs as possible.
On the Celtics side of the ball, they will have a new look on the floor we haven’t seen since late April. Kristaps Porzingis, who has been nursing a calf injury since the opening playoff series, makes his return to the lineup. Porzingis will see minutes, how many he will see is the question. The Celtics will be grateful to have Porzingis’ size (7’2″) back but will likely play him more in spots than anything else. However, we should see a steady increase in his playing time as the series progresses.
Official Prediction:
This year’s finals matchup is much closer than last years in terms of win probability. If we are lucky, this series will go the distance and they will play all seven. I have the Celtics winning in front of their home crowd in the final game of the series. We would love to know your take on the series, comment below!
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