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The Dallas Mavericks are in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics after making an impressive run through the Western Conference. Both sides come loaded with firepower that could allow them to end their respective franchise's title drought.
Everyone expected the Celtics to make it to the Finals. But not many thought that the Mavs would match up with them. Luka Doncic finally has a team around him that can do damage. As good as Boston is, it won’t be an easy task to tamper Doncic and Dallas' high-octane offense.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams said on The Old Man and the Three, hosted by not-coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, JJ Redick, that the Mavs have a tendency to go on “loud” runs that can destabilize opponents. Williams saw this firsthand when his squad fell to Dallas in the second round.
“The biggest thing with them is they go on really loud runs because of the rate they shoot threes,” he said. “So when they’re up 10, it’s really easy to kind of panic and get out of what works for you. I think there were points in our game where we did that and tried to force a couple of things and now 10 is 15, and you’re just playing from behind the whole game. So up 10, down 10, you just got to stick with it and whatever your game plan is, just live and die by that.”
The Mavs' offensive rating in the fourth quarter of this year’s postseason is the second-highest at 121.1. The Miami Heat rank above them but only because they played in so many blowout losses that the final frame didn’t matter. This Dallas team always seems to come up with a bucket when it needs to. When games come down to the wire, their execution has been top-notch.
Mavericks' high-powered offense powering NBA Finals run
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As Williams said, the Mavs do take a lot of threes. Over 40 percent of their field-goal attempts in this year's playoffs have come from deep, one of just four teams to cross that mark. They have shot 37.2 percent on those threes, tied for the fourth-best mark in these playoffs. When you have talent like Doncic and Kyrie Irving creating those looks and benefiting from the space those shooters create, it’s not easy to stop.
What makes things interesting is that the Celtics could have a similar impact given how many threes they shoot. They sit atop the leaderboard in three-point-attempt rate for the 2024 playoffs with over 47 percent of their shots coming from downtown. Those shots go in at a 36.8-percent clip. Boston routinely plays five players who can shoot, including former Maverick Kristaps Porzingis, and likewise can explode on offense with an onslaught of triples.
The Celtics have a lot of tough defenders of various sizes and the shot-creators to hang with the Mavericks' stellar duo. But when the clock strikes winning time, will they be able to come together and make the necessary plays? That will be the ultimate test that determines if they can finish the job.
Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals will be on Thursday at 8:30 P.M. EST at TD Garden.
