The Truth about the Celtics vs. Mavericks
Can I start by congratulating Jaylen Brown? We’ve been hearing rumors about the Celtics trying to trade Jaylen Brown for years. The media constantly said that Jayson Tatum needs a better partner in crime. Turns out, Jaylen is taking control of the narrative.
Since defeating the trade rumors and signing the largest contract in NBA history, Jaylen Brown has been on a mission. Setting the tempo, mind-boggling dunks, and career-defining shots; this man is evolving into his final form right before our eyes.
For the Celtics, though, the most important part of this championship quest was October 1st, 2023.
Days before, Damian Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a 3-team trade that sent Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers. Boston capitalized on this opportunity offering Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, and two first-round picks for Jrue Holiday.
For years, Jrue has been known as one of the best defenders in the entire league at the guard position. Combine that with being a solid point guard and shooting over 40% from three, he is a perfect piece for any team to be honest.
Jrue Holiday was selected on the NBA All-Defense Second team this season. There was another guard on that all-NBA team's second team, Holiday’s teammate Derrick White.
So you have two guards who are all NBA defenders and are knockdown three-point shooters and you pair them up with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Mind you, two all around stars in the NBA who also bring the intensity on defense. These guys are taking turns switching on Luka and Kyrie for the entire game. Talk about exhausting.
The Celtics are the perfectly designed opponent to combat Dallas. Luka and Kyrie are expending so much energy on offense to get a shot off and by the end of the game, they are gassed. There isn’t an NBA finals-level scorer on the team besides those two so they have to carry the weight of this team here and It’s just too much to ask honestly. This Mavericks team is perhaps a bit ahead of schedule, Derrick Lively has developed into a very valuable asset as a rookie and will continue to progress.
Kyrie and Luka rely on creating off the dribble, they are often looking to create mismatches and switches on players who are unable to properly guard them. That’s a problem for most NBA teams, but not the Celtics. No matter which guard or wing switches onto you up, odds are it’s an all-nba level defender who’s onto you. Tatum and Brown are great and often underrated on defense, Holiday and Brown are All-NBA, and then you have Al Horford and Porzingis. The Celtics are just too complete and the Mavericks have vulnerable weaknesses they are preying on.
Historically there’s a 0% chance that the Mavericks can win this series, but, there’s a first time for everything.
156 times a team has gone up 3-0 and 156 times that team has gone on to win the series. Kyrie and Luka would have to be lights out for the rest of the series. Being two of the most talented offensive players in NBA history, if anybody has a “chance” at doing it, it’s the Dallas Mavericks.