Welcome to the hardest part of the entire NBA Playoff journey.
In the race to 16 wins, for some franchises that situation presents itself with securing win #8.
For this franchise and this team, winning 14 games isn’t the hard part.
We’ve been here before.
Up 2-1 and 4 minutes away from taking a 3-1 Finals lead, we all know what happened next.
Just look at what’s happening right now.
Many are calling this series over.
That the Mavs have no chance and they may as well wave the white flag.
You know who isn’t doing that?
You know who shouldn’t be doing that?
The Celtics don’t raise a banner for winning 14 playoff games.
They do not hang a banner for taking a 2-0 series lead in the Finals.
Anything, and I mean ANYTHING can still happen.
You know who knows that?
They have the Mavs on the ropes, and they absolutely cannot let them off the hook.
The good news is the Celts still haven’t even played all that well in these Finals.
It certainly hasn’t been to their ceiling, which should scare Mavs fans a little bit.
What we’ve seen from the Celts to start these Finals can best be described as maturity.
That’s belief and trust in one another.
That’s operating as a T-E-A-M.
When the Celtics do that, they are virtually unstoppable.
Just like they’ve been all season long.
Let’s dive in.
The Good
- Another impossible challenge for yours truly.
How could anyone decide where to start?
Jaylen Brown’s individual defense against Kyrie and Luka has been incredible.
Derrick White has had his moments.
OK, have fun tiring yourself out!
The strategy is pretty clear through 2 games.
Stay home, don’t send doubles to Luka and shut the water off everywhere else.
Having Tatum on the center has neutralized their pick and roll attack, and the results speak for themselves.
Heading into the Finals, the Mavs had a 115.2 ORTG.
So far in the Finals that number has dropped significantly to 100.0.
Sorry, but you aren’t beating this Celts team 4 times with an ORTG of 100.0.
- Now that the defensive nod is out of the way, we can talk about Jrue Holiday.
That’s the first thing.
He was pretty good right?
Huge game ending defensive plays?
Smart off ball cuts to score in the paint?
I would like to take this time to thank them for that.
- The second spot is going to Joe Mazzulla.
Given how poor their perimeter defense is, that small adjustment makes all the difference in the world.
Defensively, from a scheme standpoint there’s almost nothing to nitpick.
We all understand how insane that is correct?
Maybe most importantly, Joe has complete buy in from everyone.
This is what Payton Pritchard does.
There’s no waiting until just after the buzzer so you don’t hurt your FG%.
You think Payton Pritchard gives a fuck about percentages?
You could make the case that this is the shot that truly turned the game.
But up 9 after a play like that?
It allowed everyone to exhale and then refocus for the 4th.
It’s impossible to miss, and the impact it’s making is undeniable.
That’s the difference in Jaylen’s season to me.
He isn’t just talking about it, he’s being about it on both ends of the floor.
But given what we’ve seen all playoffs, I have zero doubt Jaylen will be able to adjust.
- The Boston Celtics won a game in which they shjot 10-39 from three.
They also won a game in the clutch against the supposed best clutch team in basketball.
B) The Celtics couldn’t win close games in the clutch in the playoffs.
Check…and check?
Not losing the “Bad shooting game” has to have Mavs fans sick.
Just think about that.
It’s hard to decide what was the bigger play.
Then of course, there was the block at the end.
you’re able to take your block by James, I’ll take my block by White.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again.
Derrick White is a tremendous Celtic.
He’s everything being a Celtic is all about.
Anyone could have traded for him, and thank God Brad Stevens was the one who did.
- A large portion of today I’m sure will be slandering Jayson Tatum.
Whatever, same shit different day.
At this point it’s getting desperate, so I say let his haters cope.
But his overall play?
I have almost zero problems with it.
Granted his first half last night was horrendous, but there’s a reason games are 48 minutes.
This is the level we have been dreaming about since Tatum first arrived.
I could fucking cry.
- Kyrie/Luka were a combined 5-16 (1-6) with 6 TOs in the second half.
The Bad
- Game 1 gave us the 0-7 (0-5) Payton Pritchard performance.
Game 2 gave us an 0-5 (0-5) performance from Sam Hauser.
Again, this is a blown opportunity for the Mavs.
At some point, 40% shooters are going to make their wide open 3s.
It made things way more stressful than they needed to be.
- Yes, I am terrified of the Porzingis injury.
How could anyone not be?
I know he said he’s fine.
I know Joe said there’s zero concern.
I don’t give a shit.
Until I see it with my own eyes, I am going to be terrified.
I’m preparing for the worst just to be safe.
When you get into the 4th quarter of a Finals game, every possession is valuable.
It didn’t burn them last night, but it doesn’t mean it won’t.
- Tony Brothers remains one of the worst officials the NBA has.
Awful for both sides, I still do not understand how he’s getting Finals games.
He’s so, so bad.
As a reminder for those who may not know what that is, it’s
1.
High points off TOs
2.
Cold 3pt Shooting
3.
The Ugly
- Nope.
So here we go.
The NBA Finals is pretty much on the line in Game 3.
Go up 3-0, and it’s a wrap.
14 down, 2 to go.
