2024 Playoffs- 4th Round: Boston Celtics - Dallas Mavericks

[Dundalis]

I think this last sentence has a good deal of truth to it. Boston has five 2-way players that have to be guarded. Of the ten best players in the two team starting lineups, DJJ and PJ would likely be 9th and 10th. Those two are very good players, but there's a good case that the entire starting cast of Boston has better overall players. The Mavs won't be able to load up defensively on specific Boston players like we did with Minnesota. There are no Andersons we can ignore, or Gorbets we can manipulate.

Personally, I think Boston should win based on the personnel and I understand why Vegas sees it that way. What is more difficult to predict is Luka's uncanny ability to manage the half-court game, and the team chemistry this team has created. The chemistry (the huddles, talks of trust, practice vibes) is frankly more noticeable with the Mavs and is probably not measurable. The Mavs are capable of bringing more energy, and Luka is far and away the best player on either team. Tatum has had stretches where he's disappeared, and the team play has been lackadaisical.

The other thing is that there is an inordinate amount of pressure on Boston to win it all. The fan base has been expecting it and the Eastern Conference could really change next year if NY is healthy, and Indiana has another year to mature. By contrast, I doubt the Mavs fan base would feel the same level of defeat since no one really expected them here during mid-season, and almost all of our players are young and under contract for awhile. Boston will be feeling a lot more pressure.

Dallas players are young and not going anywhere, but neither are Boston's guys, and they already have the best roster in the league. Unless you lost in devastating fashion to where it became psychological, you'd feel very comfortable running it back and getting back to the Finals pretty comfortably again.

Dallas still has a clear overall talent deficit just within the west alone, and will have a way way tougher time getting back to the Finals moving forward than the Celtics will. I know there's huge expectation for the Celtics to win a title, but it's a way easier road for them to get more chances if they don't win it than it is for the Mavs. If the Mavs do lose, I'm not looking at the West and the improvements other teams will definitely make and feeling particularly comfortable about our ability to get back here, especially if we aren't making improvements also and end up sitting on our hands a bit.