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

[audiosway]

I’m not ready to get into the what ifs of next year yet, but I agree with this assessment of game one. During the game, it felt like the Celtics were absolutely annihilating the Mavs defense, but the score wasn’t crazy in the end, and the percentages look about average. I think it was possibly a pretty decent effort, defensively, given the emotionality of game 1 on their home court. I’m not sure we can expect much better in the series, and in fact, I bet the Celtics have a couple of much more effective offensive games in them.

The real problem was the Dallas offense. I swear, if it weren’t for garbage time, I am not sure the Mavs would have broken 80. Luka got some Luka shots, and even missed some that he normally makes, and maligned as Kyrie was in the game thread, I thought he created a lot of good looks for himself. They just didn’t go in. However, none of the Mavs team offensive actions amounted to diddly squat in this game. It was complete dominance by the Celtics defense for about 38 of the 48 minutes. PJ Washington had some nice moments of exploiting mismatches and playing hard in the paint, but that was kind of part of the problem, because time and time again we saw the Mavs doing things they don’t normally do on the offensive side of the ball. That’s extremely concerning, because it tells me they were reacting instead of implementing a plan.

Gafford and Lively were both pretty bad, defensively, but most of us expected that. We all hope they can find a way for those guys to contribute to the series on defense, but that hope is based on how important they are to the Mavs offense. The thing is, in game one, they did not contribute on offense. The screens weren’t as effective. They were both abysmal on the offensive glass. They were a non-factor in the screen roll game, which was concerning. Dallas basically acquiesced to Boston’s desire to take that away without even testing it. That really, really needs to change in game two, at least for Lively. If neither of those guys are playing well on at least one side of the court, the Mavs’ rotation no longer makes any sense, whatsoever. And, if neither of them are rebounding, or freeing up anyone on screens (forget about scoring), what even is the point of TRYING to make it work with them on defense? Big yikes on that. Interested to see how things play out in game two.

I couldn’t believe my eyes with Porziņģis. I have been harder on him than most, but I will be damned if he didn’t affect the game on defense much more overtly than Gobert did at any point of the Minnesota series. I have to believe that this was just something Dallas was unprepared for, and that he will never seem that dominant again in the series. If I didn’t believe that, I might not be able to force myself to keep watching, because there are very few players in the NBA I dislike as much as Kristaps Porziņģis. I am fine with him getting all of those post touches, because I don’t care what the stats say about his season – that will end up not being a plus for Boston by the end of the series. In fact, I think Dallas found something in the second half by switching Luka onto him. But, if he really is going to affect the game on defense, that is going to be a particularly tough way for me to stomach the Mavs losing this series.

I said something like this in the game thread, but the really concerning thing was that Boston played exactly how they wanted to, exactly how they have been playing all season, on both ends of the court. It felt like Dallas was searching for their identity in this series for pretty much the entire first half. Boston is clearly going to isolate Luka in space far more than any other team has been able to do this postseason, and that’s scary, but the scariest thing is I kind of felt like the Dallas plan was for Luka to isolate Boston players in space, and it didn’t really seem like they found one he could be effective against, other than the Prichard minutes, which Luka dominated thoroughly. Pritchard will not play enough for that to be a significant part of their plan, so they have got to find something on offense against Boston’s top six that’s advantageous. So far, I’ve seen nothing that remotely qualifies.

Very sobering game one, but it is only one game. Time for Kidd to earn that extension they’ve already given him.

MAVS IN 6!

Good overall picture of what went on. The thing I noticed the most was that Dallas looked jarred once KP came in and hit some shots in the first. The Celtics came out with a massive amount of energy looking to set the tone. They did that. Everyone outside of Luka looked surprised.

Luka at times even looked a little timid. The C's showed they had been there before. That needs to change. If I were Kidd I would touch on things that worked in the 3rd. They need to muck the game up. Get physical and back to fighting for every possession. They really just looked timid overall I though. 

They didn't start coming together until the 3rd. The game was over after the first. The game ended up as an 18 point loss. The first quarter ended 17 points down. The first quarter was the game. That first punch in the mouth Dallas wasn't expecting and didn't know how to handle. The Celtics likely knew Dallas would come out that way since they had been in that position against GS a couple of years ago.

The most important thing now is to get that out of the way. It's just a basketball game. The offense was very stagnate. Only 9 assists as a team is unacceptable. The ball can't get stuck. No hero ball.

Also, Ky has to play better. The whole team was just out of sorts and not playing Dallas basketball. That first quarter punch did that. They couldn't recover after that.

I think game 2 will be much better. They come out and play like they have so far in the playoffs and they can take game 2. That's a huge moment to come out in a finals game. Especially since 2 of the starters were on tanking teams mid season. Now they see how bright the lights are. It's time to play Dallas basketball and get back to what works.

[ThisIStheYear]

I don’t know exactly what kinds of teams give the Celtics trouble. I think I heard they were 3-5 against the top teams in the West and the Lakers beat them. My impression is that we’ll need to win ugly. Giving up 3s is one thing, getting beat on the glass is another. We cannot lose to a relatively undersized Boston team on the glass. We need to crush them there. So, physical, slow, ugly, and a lot of shots by Luka seems like the right approach to the rest of this series. More minutes for Kleber. More Josh plus Luka backcourt minutes with three bigger player up front. I’d put the most physical lineups possible on the floor for longer stretches:Luka, Josh, Kleber, lively, PJ. I wouldn’t pair Kyrie with Hardy either. Too small. Foul a lot. No running.

[Chicagojk]

celtics ran away from us in March, but these are the types of looks we need to get for our centers. Hopefully with more rebounds.

The Celtics did good though. There wasn't nearly as much space last night, but Dallas has to figure it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1sQg1lu4QA

[Knutsen]

Right now I struggle to come up with possible changes. What can the Mavs do to create easier looks. Is there a way to go after Horford and KP that doesn't involve PJ or DJJ screening. Is there a way to exploit the height advantage in the paint if the Celtics continue to guard Lively/Gafford with Tatum (Tatum hasn't been as good on offense but he is the key on defense).
Can they find a money play like the double drag screen against the Wolves.

Would probably try to involve Kyrie and Luka in the screen action. Celtics can switch guard/guard screens but if it a double drag or spain pick and roll it is difficult to execute them. Whatever it takes to create mismatches.
Are post touches for the bigs an option. Lively and Gafford have no real back to the basket game but the Mavs have to punish the Celtics when they switch White or Holiday onto Gafford/Lively.
What can PJ and DJJ do to take advantage of the space they get at the top of the key. Driving into KP or bricking 3s isn't the solution. Maybe follow it up with a dribble hand off for Kyrie that forces KP/Horford to step up.

Wasn’t able to watch the game because I‘m traveling through Iceland right now and would only spend the time to rewatch if we would have won - shame on me, I know, but don’t want to get killed by my girlfriend for a loss - did we play Luka in the post? If not, any chance to create mismatches there? Because he‘s by far our best post player.

[LukaMVP]

post D is a weak link of the Celtics D that we can pounce on. we cannot play the style of offense we are used to in a tightly contested series, instead we need to find the opponents' weaklings and adjust our offensive plans accordingly. it's true for the other end of floor as well and I think it's a major difference between regular season and the post season.

[BolsDamols]

Cant get over the play where Jrue Holiday posted up PJ, backed him down and scored on him. PJ is a very strong dude but Jrue was like on another level.

[SwisherPrice]

Al Horford is just a Mavs Killer. He's always torched us since he joined the Celtics...always brings great defense and great shooting. I knew we were in big trouble when he was able to pumpfake and drive for a dunk on the first possession of the game.

Holiday is such a big upgrade from Marcus Smart with his experience and shooting. It's just not fair how elite this Celtics team is...I would say they are BETTER than the 2011 Heat

[bubbler86]

Al Horford is just a Mavs Killer. He's always torched us since he joined the Celtics...always brings great defense and great shooting. I knew we were in big trouble when he was able to pumpfake and drive for a dunk on the first possession of the game.

Holiday is such a big upgrade from Marcus Smart with his experience and shooting. It's just not fair how elite this Celtics team is...I would say they are BETTER than the 2011 Heat

Hopefully our guys are not thinking/saying this.

[BoredAssistant]

I would try to get one of KP or Horford and one of the J's in foul trouble. Pump fake the heck out of them. I can't stand when one of our bigs has 5 fouls.

[dirkfansince1998]

Wasn’t able to watch the game because I‘m traveling through Iceland right now and would only spend the time to rewatch if we would have won - shame on me, I know, but don’t want to get killed by my girlfriend for a loss - did we play Luka in the post? If not, any chance to create mismatches there? Because he‘s by far our best post player.

Maybe 1-2 possessions total. Difficult to get Luka into the post because the Celtics can help off Gafford/Lively and are willing to help off DJJ/PJ as long as they aren't in the corner. But that's another topic. How can the Mavs create corner 3s.

[HoosierDaddyKidd]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4030...key-series


Rebounding is a key to this series.

[SleepingHero]

https://x.com/MavsFansForLife/status/179...7647082588
@MavsFansForLife
Luka Dončić: “This is the team that drafted me, the team that put belief in me. I'm really happy to represent Dallas. Hopefully it’s not the last time. I think the whole Dallas is proud of our team. So I’m happy to represent them.”


IM HAPPY YOU REPRESENT DALLAS TOO LUKA!

[SleepingHero]

@NationMffl
Kyrie’s message to Mavs fans after Game 1:

“It’s not the first time we hear that Dallas fans are panicking (laughing)… Shoutout to our fans we appreciate your support all year, just stay poised man, stay focused on the goal, this mission is bigger than us.”

[SleepingHero]

https://x.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1799482600224113077

Jason Kidd just lit up Boston Sports media for the next 2 days with this quote:

@NoaDalzellNBA
Jason Kidd was asked what makes going up against Jaylen Brown so challenging:

“Well, Jaylen’s their best player.”

[audiosway]

I don’t know exactly what kinds of teams give the Celtics trouble. I think I heard they were 3-5 against the top teams in the West and the Lakers beat them. My impression is that we’ll need to win ugly. Giving up 3s is one thing, getting beat on the glass is another. We cannot lose to a relatively undersized Boston team on the glass. We need to crush them there. So, physical, slow, ugly, and a lot of shots by Luka seems like the right approach to the rest of this series. More minutes for Kleber. More Josh plus Luka backcourt minutes with three bigger player up front. I’d put the most physical lineups possible on the floor for longer stretches:Luka, Josh, Kleber, lively, PJ. I wouldn’t pair Kyrie with Hardy either.  Too small. Foul a lot.  No running.

This is exactly how you beat Boston. They are a finesse jump shooting team. They can't handle a slow physical game. That's what we'll see Dallas go to in game 2. Very physical. Kidd will likely tell the team to bump guys at every opporunity just to make sure they feel it. I would make sure Boston is sore Monday morning. Boston lost both Denver games and was not good against the West's top teams.

They need to start with bumping KP at every opportunity. Make him work just to get the ball. No easy buckets. If it's a layup hard foul to make sure they don't make it. Boston needs to get the mental image of NOT seeing the ball go in. That's what got them going in game 1. That's why you always see PJ jump up and grab any free shots the opponents take after a whistle.

Dallas will come out and play an ugly physical game. Slow and prodding. If Boston gets out in transition just make a hard foul. Nothing easy. That is what stops 5 out. 5 out is finesse.

[audiosway]

https://x.com/NoaDalzellNBA/status/1799482600224113077

Jason Kidd just lit up Boston Sports media for the next 2 days with this quote:

@NoaDalzellNBA
Jason Kidd was asked what makes going up against Jaylen Brown so challenging:

“Well, Jaylen’s their best player.”

Look at him causing some friction in the locker room for Boston. That was smart. Tatum didn't play a great game 1. He's trying to get in Tatum's head.

[nicholasthefan]

Seems like a good move by Kidd unless Tatum goes for 40

[audiosway]

Seems like a good move by Kidd unless Tatum goes for 40

That was a very smart move. Either Tatum will get in his head about Jaylen or he will take possessions away from Jaylen trying to show it's not true.

[Chicagojk]

Kidd and brown have a long history with Cal.

Not a fan of this though. I am in the camp of not saying anything at these press conferences. Like Kidd usually does. Not a fan of these games. Don’t think Boston would take the bait anyway. Just give the boring answers.

[SleepingHero]

Kidd and brown have a long history with Cal.

Not a fan of this though.  I am in the camp of not saying anything at these press conferences.  Like Kidd usually does.  Not a fan of these games.  Don’t think Boston would take the bait anyway.  Just give the boring answers.

Al Horford already kind of took the bait:

Al Horford asked about Jason Kidd calling Jaylen Brown the Celtics’ best player:

“Jason Kidd, man. I see what he’s doing. Jaylen is an unbelievable player." 

As he walks away, he adds “that man is sneaky” while laughing


It's a non answer, but it's funny how he doesn't acknowledge that Brown is their best player. It equally gets into the heads of Tatum and Brown.


Will it make a difference? Probably not. But I still love these kind games. It's not like he disparaged the Celtics or gave them bulletin board material. He was complimentary and praised Brown. But he hit the right button to make them at least think about it.