The Dallas Mavericks have lost the first two games of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. The good news for the Mavs is that they are back home and ready to play host to the next two games in this championship series. The bad news, aside from trailing by two games in the series, is that Dereck Lively II may have given the Celtics more bulletin board material for their locker room.
There has been a lot of talk about how Celtics fans can be rowdy and unruly at times. In fact, there have been numerous instances of fans in Boston getting into verbal altercations with players during the regular season. So far, the league hasn't had to deal with any problems between Celtics fans and players during the NBA Finals.
As a matter of fact, the Mavs tend to think that the fans in Boston haven't been a factor whatsoever. Kyrie Irving made a comment about thinking TD Garden would be louder than it was, and the Celtics ended up putting that message on the jumbotron during Game 2. On Tuesday, ahead of Game 3, it was Lively's turn to take a jab at the Celtics' faithful.
“[Mavs fans] are gonna be loud. I honestly didn’t think it was that loud [in Boston],” Lively stated, via ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly. “There’s a bunch of rumors about how Boston’s gonna be so loud and so nasty, and I thought it was gonna be worse. So, just knowing that, it makes you want to go out there and perform in front of your home crowd.”
While Lively and the Mavs may truly believe that Boston was not as loud as they anticipated, this seems more like gamesmanship than anything else. Dallas is sending a clear message to their fans to bring it for Game 3 on Wednesday night. At this point, the Mavericks may need their fans to help the team to a victory over the Celtics.
How Dereck Lively II can impact NBA Finals series
Through two games of the NBA Finals, Lively has been held in check by Boston. He has scored just two points in back-to-back games, and is only averaging 6.0 rebounds per game. Lively averaged 7.8 rebounds per game in each of the Mavericks' previous two series against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.
The rookie big man has made his presence felt defensively and has been an avid shot blocker throughout the playoffs, yet he hasn't recorded a single block against the Celtics. To make matters worse, his minutes have decreased as a result of Boston putting Lively in scenarios where he has to defend on the perimeter.
In order for Lively and the Mavs to get back in this series, they know the team as a whole will need to step up to the challenge on defense. This was something the 20-year-old dove into.
“It’s just understanding the defensive principles. Instead of me protecting the paint, it’s me rotating to either wing or to the corner. It’s understanding where you are on the floor,” Lively told reporters. “It's just always moving your head, keeping your head on a swivel, and understanding who where are and who is in the game.”
The Mavericks' defense has not been bad whatsoever. However, if they can eliminate some of the small errors being made, as Lively alluded to, they can potentially even up this NBA Finals series on their home floor.
What transpires in Game 3 will be very telling as to whether Dallas has a chance to make things interesting against Boston. A third-straight loss, this time in front of their home faithful, would practically be a death sentence for the Mavs.
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