Mavericks vs. Celtics: How Luka Doncic and Dallas can solve math problem after blowout loss to open NBA Finals

The Dallas Mavericks attempted 27 3-pointers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics attempted 27 3-pointers in the first half. When Mavericks stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving checked out with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter, the Celtics had generated 48 points from behind the 3-point line to the Mavericks’ 15.

It was an extreme example of what Boston, the NBA’s most prolific 3-point shooting team, often does to opponents. In the regular season, it attempted an average of 5.8 more 3-pointers per 100 possessions than its opponents, tied with the Indiana Pacers for the biggest differential in the league.

Dallas, however, is not just any other opponent. The Western Conference champs were the second-most prolific 3-point shooting team this season, and nobody attempted more corner 3s than them. On Thursday, the Mavericks shot 1-for-3 in the corners, and the one make was in garbage time. After watching Doncic and Irving shred the Minnesota Timberwolves’ top-ranked defense, it was jarring to watch the Celtics so thoroughly defang them.

If Dallas doesn’t solve this math problem on Sunday, it has little chance of evening the series. And chucking up a bunch of off-the-dribble 3s won’t do the trick. For the Mavs to bounce back, they need to create the kind of looks that Boston did in the opener.

Drive-and-kick dominance

You can get a pretty good idea of how the Celtics ran away with Game 1 simply by watching the first quarter. Coming off a fast-paced, offense-heavy series against the Indiana Pacers, Boston played at a totally different speed than Dallas did. Early on, after a P.J. Washington dunk, the Celtics pushed the ball and created a wide-open corner 3 for Al Horford. Look at Jaylen Brown getting inside the 3-point line with 21 seconds on the shot clock, drawing a second defender and kicking the ball out.

If one single sequence was a microcosm of the game, it might be when Irving bonked a 3 off the side of the backboard in isolation against Sam Hauser, leading to a trail 3 for Porzingis: 

Derrick White and Hauser also cashed…

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Author : James Herbert

Publish date : 2024-06-09 17:54:58

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