BOSTON — In addition to airing every game of the 2024 NBA Finals on our station, WFAA is also hosting a special presentation called "The Pregame" before each and every matchup in the series. Head here for more information.
For the third time this year, the Dallas Mavericks are down 0-1 in a playoff series.
However, this time it’s against the Boston Celtics — the league’s number one team — in the NBA Finals.
The Mavericks dropped Game 1 of the Finals, 107-89. The Mavs trailed by 29 at one point, but they hung in there and trimmed the deficit to eight before the Celtics eventually pulled away.
Here are a few things to look for going into Game 2 from Boston.
Anyone but Luka
In his first career NBA Finals game, Mavs star Luka Doncic totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds and just a single assist.
That was not a product of Luka hogging the ball. It was because his teammates struggled to score against the Celtics' hounding defense.
While he is arguably the greatest basketball player on the planet right now, Luka is just one of 10 players on the court and he cannot defeat the deep and talented Celtics by himself.
The Mavs will need more scoring from the rest of the lineup — especially Kyrie Irving, who shot a miserable 6-of-19 in Game 1.
Kyrie Curse
Ok, I’m starting to come around on the Kyrie Curse.
Since he stomped on the Celtics logo in May 2021, Kyrie is 0-11 against Boston, including regular season and postseason games.
11 straight losses.
If there’s a sports town that knows about curses, it’s Boston. The Curse of the Bambino lasted 86 years before the Red Sox finally won the World Series again.
For the Mavs to have a shot at winning the series, Kyrie may want to make amends with Lucky the Leprechaun.
Chess match
After practice on Saturday, Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd called Celtics star Jaylen Brown “their best player.”
He credited Brown’s ability as a two-way player —getting buckets on offense and picking up the opposing team’s best player on defense. Brown picked Luka’s pocket in Game 1, which rarely happens.
Kidd’s declaration would be innocuous — if not for Jayson Tatum, who is constantly touted as the Celtics number one player.
For the record, I don’t think Kidd is wrong.
Brown is probably the most underrated co-star in the NBA and has been incredible during the Celtics playoff run.
But why did Kidd feel compelled to say that publicly? Maybe it was just him sharing his opinion. Maybe.
But Kidd was one of the smartest players to play in the NBA. And now he’s playing mind games.
To serve what purpose, remains to be seen.
But I admire the chess move — whether it was intentional or not.
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