In Game one of the NBA finals, the Boston Celtics did what they do best – completely burying teams with the three-pointer and playing stellar team defense. Boston completely dominated the Mavericks on both ends, leading the game by 29 points at one point. Although the Mavericks were able to cut the lead to eight points, the Celtics responded with a run of their own and quickly put the game away. The Mavericks will have to make many key adjustments going into game two.
First Quarter Woes:
Many times in game one’s this postseason, especially in the first quarters, the Mavericks start the games a step behind. Whether it was because Dallas was unprepared or the Celtics were hitting all their shots, the Mavericks found themselves down 17 points at the end of the first quarter. Although Dallas has proved they can come back from significant deficits, being down that much in the first quarter is a significant hurdle to overcome. On the offensive end, expect Dallas to start game two extremely aggressive, making a concerted effort to get to the basket and create open threes. On the defensive end, Dallas’s effort and rotations must be crisp right from the jump to keep up with the Celtics dynamic offense. If the Mavericks want to win game two, they must start the game focused and poised on both ends of the floor.
Limiting Kristaps Porzingis
Although Kristaps Porzingis had not played in 38 days before game one, he looked like he hadn’t skipped a beat. He dominated Dallas with 11 points, three rebounds, and three blocks in the first quarter. He took advantage of every size mismatch, punishing Dallas for switching on ball screens. If the Mavericks left him open on the three-point line, he had no problem hitting deep shots from beyond the arc. On the defensive end, Porzingis protected the paint exceptionally well, contesting nearly every shot Dallas took at the basket. One of Porzingis’s three blocks included an impressive fast break rejection on Mavericks guard Josh Green.
If Porzingis plays that well, especially hitting deep threes, it makes the Celtics offense much more potent and dangerous. His floor-spacing ability takes the Dallas big men away from the basket, allowing Boston easier shots at the rim. The Mavericks need to limit Porzingis’s offensive output and make a better effort contesting his shots. On the offensive end, the Mavericks can’t force contested layups against Porzingis, as he has proved to be an effective rim deterrent. While Dallas should still be aggressive in driving to the basket, they must be more patient and selective with the shots they choose to take.
Kyrie Irving Needs to Play Better
The main storyline in game 1 was Kyrie Irving’s return to Boston. It’s no secret that Celtics fans don’t like Irving, as TD Garden was filled with “Kyrie sucks!” chants.
Irving finished the game with 12 points, shooting 6-19 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Whether the hostile Boston crown got to him, or he just had a bad game, the Mavericks can’t win with him shooting that poorly. Dallas desperately needs his offensive output, especially when the team gets little production from the role players. Irving got the shots he wanted on offense but couldn’t put them in the basket. Dallas needs to run more high-screen actions with Irving, giving him more room to operate with less defensive help going to the basket. The Mavericks ran some of these actions in the third quarter of game one and found some success with it. His scoring is crucial for Dallas to have success in game two.
Getting the Dallas Role Players involved on Offense
For most of game one, the Mavericks offense looked stagnant, with lots of isolation-heavy possessions. While Dallas has two of the best isolation players in the NBA, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Celtics made it extremely hard to get the role players involved on offense. Every time Doncic or Irving drove to the basket, the Boston defense collapsed, making the kick-out passes to shooters particularly difficult. Reflecting the isolation-heavy offense in game one, Doncic finished the game with a playoff career-low one assist. The Maverick’s offense thrives off of drive and kicks, so Dallas needs to implement a counter to the Celtic’s defensive scheme in game two and emphasize getting the role players more involved on offense. With that being said,
With game two coming up, the Celtics have an opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, while the Mavericks look to steal a game on the road. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has his hands full, hoping to go back to Dallas with the series tied.
