The Dallas Mavericks dropped Game 1 of the NBA Finals 107-89 on Thursday night. Boston was in complete control throughout the contest. Luka Doncic performed well, becoming the first player since Tim Duncan to record a 30-point double-double in his NBA Finals debut.
Still, the Mavs clearly have some things to address before Game 2. Let's take a look at three Mavs takeaways following their Game 1 loss.
Kristaps Porzingis is a problem
Kristaps Porzingis started the game strong and had 11 points early. He ultimately finished with 20 points and six rebounds. Jaylen Brown, meanwhile, led the Celtics with 22 points while Jayson Tatum added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
In the end, we know that the Celtics star-studded duo is going to perform well. But Porzingis, who has missed a significant amount of time due to injury, will continue to make a difference if Dallas does not find an answer for him.
Mavs need Kyrie Irving
As mentioned, Doncic played well. He finished the game with 30 points and 10 rebounds. PJ Washington added 14 points while Jaden Hardy scored 13.
But the Mavericks need Kyrie Irving to step up.
Kyrie, while facing boos from fans, scored just 12 points and went 6-19 from the field and 0-5 from deep. He added just three rebounds and two assists. Overall, Irving had a plus-minus of minus-19.
Doncic is a great player. Having Washington as a third scorer is crucial. However, Dallas will not win this series if Irving cannot find his groove from an offensive standpoint.
The good news is that Irving is one of the best players in the NBA and he often performs well in the big moments. One has to imagine that Kyrie will find a way to bounce back in Game 2. If he does not, though, the Mavs will be in serious trouble.
Don't panic
The most important takeaway is to not panic. The Mavericks dropped Game 1 in both the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder series. Yet, Dallas still ended up winning those series.
Sure, it was an ugly loss for the Mavs. They will not be pleased with the team's overall performance. Nevertheless, Dallas is more than capable of rebounding and upsetting Boston in Game 2.
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic need to make this message clear to the team. The last thing Dallas can afford to do right now is panic and play sloppy basketball in Game 2. That would certainly be a recipe for disaster.
As long as the Mavs remain poised, they should fare well in the next contest.
Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 8 PM EST as the Mavericks look to even the series up at one game apiece. It will not be a must-win affair necessarily, but heading back to Dallas down 0-2 would be far from ideal without question.
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