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The Boston Celtics proved everyone wrong in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. They played their usual game of well-rounded basketball where everyone was contributing and it paid dividends. Everyone on Joe Mazzulla's squad got the opportunity to shine whether it was Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, or Derrick White.
This domination had Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks waving the white flag very early on. Magic Johnson took notice of this and had his own thoughts about this matchup.
Magic Johnson gives his flowers
There was only one statistical category that the Mavericks led in and that was their steals. Some of the Celtics' horrid executions against a blitzing Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic led to eight stolen balls.
Aside from that, there was no other major category where the game was close. It was a pure beatdown even when the Mavericks cut what was once a 29-point deficit to eight.
Magic Johnson noted that it was all because of the Celtics' defense, which led to this big NBA Finals Game 1 victory.
“The Celtics defense smothered the Mavs and took them completely out of their game. Like I said earlier this week – the Celtics just have more depth and firepower than the Mavs and it was on full display tonight!,” the Los Angeles Lakers legend declared.
True enough, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's squad were forcing the Mavericks to take shots that were subpar. This got Luka Doncic's team a horrid 41.9 percent field-goal percentage. What made it even worse it that they were constricted from way out too. The Mavericks shot a terrible 25.9 percent from deep, which clearly tells the story of the game.
Why were all these shots taken? Well, it was because a lot of Jason Kidd's usual schemes were quickly thwarted by the Celtics' defensive coverage.
The dunker's spot was immediately filled, and little to no backcuts were allowed for easy lobs to guys like Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and PJ Washington. All of the passing lanes were also shut, which meant that only Luka Doncic had the capability to create for the Mavericks.
Another big piece to the Celtics' win
The Mavericks were also clearly not prepared for one guy. He goes by the name of Kristaps Porzingis, and he completely lit his former team ablaze. Magic Johnson outlined how big his performance was alongside the other huge contributors to the Celtics.
“Kristaps Porzingis was the key to the Celtics win tonight! He ignited their offense, scoring 10 points off the bench in the first quarter, and finishing out the game with 20. Five other Celtics followed his lead – Brown (22 points), Tatum (16 points), White (15 points), Holiday (12 points) and Horford (10 points),” the former point guard wrote.
The Celtics are on the hunt to break the tie with the Lakers in terms of banner count. But Johnson remains magnanimous and in awe of this new generation of rivals. He can still give them love without succumbing to the vitriol surrounding his former foes. This team's greatness in the NBA Finals surely surpasses enemy lines.
