2024 NBA Playoff Update
2024 NBA Playoff Update
The NBA Finals are now here. Game 1 took place last night in Boston. The Celtics simply dominated this game, taking a big lead in the first half, and then holding the Mavericks off during a fairly impressive comeback attempt in the second half. Dallas got to within 9, but then the Celtics once again applied tremendous pressure, and the Mavericks sort of just faded away.
Not sure about you guys watching, but this was about what I expected. As impressive as this postseason run by Dallas has been, I felt that their Cinderella run is inevitably going to end against the Celtics. Boston was in the NBA Finals two years ago, and lost. They look at that as a missed opportunity. Meanwhile, the Mavericks were largely overlooked all season long, and did not figure to be in the NBA Finals according to most of the experts, or anyone who was following the NBA this season. But they got hot, and managed to upset a number of teams that had been expected to get past them.
In short, the Mavericks feel like the kind of team that is just happy to reach this level. Meanwhile, the Celtics have felt all season - and still feel - like a team on a mission. They were determined not to allow these NBA Finals to be another missed opportunity, and they absolutely played like it yesterday, when the actual series opened. They took care of business, and other than a small scare in the second half, when it seemed Dallas was rallying, the Celtics never really were challenged yester.
Jayson Tatum, probably the biggest star on the Boston Celtics, had apparently admitted that he was nervous prior to Game 1. Yet, he welcomes the pressure, at least according to him. Still, he had a fairly modest 16 points in this game. That helped the team's cause, to be sure. But hardly a banner day for Tatum, and nothing that will earn him the NBA Finals MVP, should the Celtics win.
The other big star for Boston is Jaylen Brown, and he did have a more characteristic performance, ultimately scoring 22 points.
However, the big surprise for the Celtics was the performance of former New York Knick star Kristaps Porziņģis. He was a very strong presence in this game, and his 20 points felt instrumental. Dallas seemed almost to be taken by surprise by this strong showing by Porziņģis, and just seemed not to have an answer to slow him down, much less stop him.
Overall, the Mavericks probably want to put last night behind them, and focus on the rest of the series. They will have their hands full against a very talented Celtics team. I still suspect that Tatum, despite a fairly modest game last night, is set to have a big game where he really helps lift his team. And even without Tatum enjoying a standout performance, the Celtics just looked like a bit too much for the Mavericks to handle.
True, this was only Game 1. But if Dallas does not figure something out in a hurry, another bad performance in Game 2 will put them down 0-2 in the series, with the pressure then on them to be flawless at home, and that's a tall order. They were not able to keep it close, did not perform particularly well either on offense nor on defense, and just have little to nothing to feel good about after that. So for them, there is probably no other way to go but up.
As for the Celtics, they are up 1-0 now, and have several days to prepare for Game 2 (of course, so does Dallas). If they perform anywhere near the level that they played at in Game 1, this series might start to look like it will be a short one indeed. That would be terrific news for the Celtics, who right now feel destined to be crowned NBA champions.
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