It’s a Matchup Full of Star Power and Intensity – Which Team Will Come Out On Top?
by Chris Ball
Loveland, Ohio – The 2024 NBA Finals have a little bit of everything. But it all starts with the pairs of superstars suiting up for each team. For the Dallas Mavericks it’s Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Doncic lead the NBA in scoring this year at 33.9 PPG and in the playoffs he’s averaging an unreal 28-9-8. In the playoffs, Irving continued to show why he’s one of the best closers in all of basketball while also a averaging over 22 per game. They’ve been dubbed by some as the best backcourt duo ever, and they’ve certain lived up to the hype. In the first round they defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 4-2 before dispatching a
very good Oklahoma City Thunder team by the same margin in the second round. Even the rising star Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves couldn’t slow down the Mavericks epic march towards the finals. While Dallas beat the Wolves in five games, it was the fire and trash talk from Doncic down the stretch that became one of the major storylines of the series. It wasn’t all hot air though as he backed them up on the court, scoring 36 points in a close out win.
Out of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics have their own high powered guard combo in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Combined, the two averaged almost 50 PPG in the regular season and lead the Celtics to the best record in the East at 64-18. The Celtics took down the Heat, Cavaliers, and the upstart Indiana Pacers in their track towards the championship.
It’s clear that the stars are going to show out and light up the scoreboard in this iteration of the finals. The question then becomes a matter of which team has the stronger supporting cast.
For the Celtics:
- Kristaps Porzingis (F/C 20-7-2)
- Derrick White (G 15-4-5)
- Jrue Holliday (G 12-5-4)
- Al Horford (C 8-6-2)
For the Mavericks:
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (G 14-3-1)
- PJ Washington (F 12-5-1)
- Daniel Gafford (F 11-7-1)
- Dereck Lively (8-6-1)
*The above are figures from the regular season (PPG-RPG-APG).
But perhaps the biggest x-factor could come from a player who has yet to take the court since the first round. Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis has missed the Celtics’ last 10 games due to a calf injury but seems primed to return for the finals. He would provide a massive boost to a team that went 9-1 without him. The Latvian big man shot a career-best 51.6% overall while hitting 37.5% beyond the arc. When you factor in the boost he can bring to Boston’s game on both ends of the court, it could be enough to make the Celtics the favorites in this series as they opened as -225 favorites Thursday night according to ESPN BET. But there’s no guarantee that Porzingis will be back to form immediately and Boston has been tight lipped about whether he is for sure good to go for game one.
But the Mavericks are adept at overcoming even the best of opponents. In the Western Conference Finals they dispatched a Timberwolves team with their own talented big man in Karl Anthony Towns. They should be in a good position to play tough against Porzingis should he return.
For his part, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd knows plenty about the pressure a team can face in the finals. As a player he was on two squads that fell short of wining a title, the first with the Mavericks in 2002 and the second with the New Jersey Nets the very next year in 2003. On the other bench, the Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla is the youngest head coach to make the NBA Finals since Bill Russell in 1969 at just 35 years old. But coach Mazzulla has done an excellent job harnessing Boston’s talent and energy, guiding the team to their second finals appearance since 2022 where they fell to the Golden State Warriors.
Other interesting facts about this years’ finals matchup:
- The Mavs are the only team in the last three postseasons with multiple wins (they’re 2-3) in games they trailed by at least 17 points.
- Boston’s opponents have attempted just 14.5 free throws per 100 shots from the field, which would be the lowest opponent free-throw rate in NBA playoff history.
These key stats lead to a few conclusions. First, that the Mavericks are never out of a game no matter how far behind they may be. Second, that the Celtics relentlessly attack the basket and draw fouls while limiting their opponents’ trips to the line.
In the end I honestly feel that this series will come down to whose non superstars play the best. If Kristaps Porzingis returns and plays to his full potential then it will be very difficult for the Mavericks. If Tim Hardaway Jr. can somehow find his shot and become an impact scorer for Dallas it could really even the field.
The way that Doncic and Irving are playing, even with the Celtics at full strength, my pick is the Mavericks in 7 thrilling games. The Celtics’ team is probably more complete for the starting 5, but Dallas also has a deeper bench, which outscored Boston 35-29 in terms of PPG in the regular season. And this is a hard series to predict given that any one of the marquee players on these teams could explode at any moment and change the dynamic of the series. But that is part of the reason why this matchup could be one of the most entertaining finals pairings.
But only time will tell and for now let’s buckle up and watch some excellent basketball.
Who is you pick to win it all this year? Let us know either in the comment section of this article or on our Facebook page!
The NBA Finals are presented by YouTube TV with ABC the exclusive provider.
Here is the television schedule for the 2024 NBA Finals:
- Game 1: Mavericks vs. Celtics, Thursday, June 6 (8:30 ET)
- Game 2: Mavericks vs. Celtics, Sunday, June 9 (8 ET)
- Game 3: Celtics vs. Mavericks, Wednesday, June 12 (8:30 ET)
- Game 4: Celtics vs. Mavericks, Friday, June 14 (8:30 ET)
- Game 5: Mavericks vs. Celtics, Monday, June 17 (8:30 ET)*
- Game 6: Celtics vs. Mavericks, Thursday, June 20 (8:30 ET)*
- Game 7: Mavericks vs. Celtics, Sunday, June 23 (8 ET)*
* = if necessary
Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.
