The time has arrived. 30 teams entered the 2023-2024 season, all with a dream to lift the O’Brien Trophy. Now, there are only two. The Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics will face off against one another in the NBA Finals. There are many headlines surrounding these finals, and we will break it down here on Belly Up’s 2024 NBA Finals Preview.
Contributors to this article include the following (I would personally like to thank them in advance for their time and effort into this preview).
- Hidro Joseph
- Nik Gable
- Matt Gest
Let’s get into it.
Ah, the Dallas Mavericks versus the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals. Are we surprised this is the matchup?
Nathan Nguyen: I actually am not. Why, you ask? I called it. Go to the 21:10 mark of the first episode of the Piggin’ Out Podcast, and you will see.
Talk about trusting your gut. The Mavericks got through the Clippers, Thunder, and Timberwolves to get to the Finals. As for Boston, they were the number-one seed all year long and cruised through an injury-riddled East to get to the Finals. Regardless of the excuses or reasons, the Celtics played well to win the East. This matchup is not as surprising.
Matt Gest: Boston is the most deserving team in the NBA to make the NBA Finals this year. Their body of work throughout the season put them in a position to be successful. With how wide open the West was all season, it was not that surprising to see the Mavs make it. But, they had the luxury of not having to face the Nuggets. You saw the toll of the Nuggets series on the T-Wolves in the WCF and that really helped propel the Mavs. Plus, the brilliance of Luka who has been the most clutch player in these playoffs.
Nik Gable: From the Boston side, not really. They were the best team in the regular season, and in each series, they played the most impactful player on the other team was injured. I thought the Mavs would get by the injury-prone clips and young Thunder. However, I did drink the Timberwolves Kool-Aid after their first two games against Denver. So I am surprised the Mavs have got here.
Hidro Joseph: Very surprised. No, not by the Celtics getting there. Boston had the most wins all year and faced teams playing multiple playoff games without their best players. The Celtics were professional and took care of business. It is the Mavericks’ arrival that surprises me. I thought we were in the Nikola Jokic era but he is home with his horses. I don’t think anyone had Dallas in the Finals this season.
How big of a coaching mismatch is this between Jason Kidd and Joe Mazzulla?
NN: Great question. I feel like this isn’t too big of a mismatch. Despite Kidd having more experience as a head coach compared to Mazzulla, that won’t matter much. Kidd is 319-294 as a head coach (winning % of .520), while Mazzulla is 144-54 (.727). Both have been incredible, installing the correct gameplans and finding the right matchups to expose the opposing team’s defense
MG: The coaching mismatch is not very large, but the strategy battle should be interesting. The Celtics are encouraged to live and die by the three point shot and the Mavericks work through their 2 ball handlers and let them make plays. I’m very interested to see how Boston handles the Mavericks defensively. We know how good Jrue is, but when he is put on an island against the elite players in the league he struggles. Similarly, it’ll be interesting to see how Kidd uses Gafford and Lively against Boston’s smaller lineups.
NG: Jason Kidd has participated in at least one NBA finals in the last two decades. 2002 and 2003 saw him as a star player on the New Jersey Nets. In 2011, again as a player for the Mavericks. Then, in 2020, he was on the coaching staff for the Lakers Bubble title. Kidd will have an advantage over Joe Mazzulla in terms of experience. However, Mazzulla has grown substantially from his first to second year as an NBA head coach.
HJ: Not really. Joe Mazzulla is a great game-to-game planner and with the NBA Finals spread out over nearly two weeks, he will install effective game plans for Jason Kidd’s offense.
Which team has the better duo: the Mavs with Kyrie and Luka or the Celtics with Tatum and Brown?
NN: For me, I’m rolling with Kyrie and Luka. Starting with Doncic, his all-around game is better than Tatum and Brown combined. A triple-double threat every time he steps on the court, the point guard from Slovenia has been incredible in these playoffs. Averaging 28.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 8.8 APG, it shouldn’t be any shock if he puts up those same statistics. His fellow teammate in Irving has been a great second option/co-superstar. Stepping up when Doncic needs a break, he is still the dangerous one-on-one player he’s always been. Those two guys are who you want in the clutch, and are outstanding ball-handlers. Give me those two.
MG: As an NBA community we couldn’t be more lucky to see this debate play out on an NBA Finals stage. Experience favors Tatum and Brown, considering they’ve been here before and have played in big games together for almost a decade now. But, from a skill standpoint, I’m taking Luka and Kyrie. There is nothing more valuable in basketball than having the ability to give your guys the ball and know that they can not be guarded 1 on 1. At the end of the day if you asked the question “who would you want taking the last shot?” Luka and Kyrie would both rank above Tatum and Brown (and for the record I’m taking Brown before Tatum).
NG: I’ll take Kyrie and Luka. It’s darn close. Luka’s playmaking is a skill that neither Tatum nor Brown possesses. Luka’s ability to get the four other players on the court open looks is only matched by Jokic. Kyrie has averaged 27.5 points per game in his NBA Finals career. Tatum and Brown are both tremendous players. Their defense on and off the ball is something the Mavs duo does not come close to. Yet great offense usually beats great defense.
HJ: Kyrie and Luka are currently discussed in the top five in terms of greatest backcourts of all time and they haven’t won any rings yet! Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in most of the major standard statistical categories but Jaylen Brown won Eastern Conference Finals MVP! I love the way Luka and Kyrie take turns on offense and it seems to be working but I will go with Tatum and Brown. They have been here before as a duo and Tatum clearly has another level to reach in these playoffs. I have no idea how Dallas will respond when one of Kyrie or Luka finally gets neutralized.
How easy was the Celtics route to the Finals? How about the Mavs’ journey?
NN: For Boston, it was way too easy. Injuries to every team they faced made the road smoother than what many thought. The Heat without Butler, Cavs without Mitchell for a few games, and the Pacers without Haliburton for also a few played a huge role. Then again, Boston played their brand of basketball and didn’t take any of these games for granted. Props to them. As for the Mavs, their journey was tougher in comparison. They would take care of the Clippers in six games, then had to deal with number-one seed Oklahoma City. But, they would also beat the Thunder in six games as well. Finally, the Minnesota Timberwolves were the last team in the way. In the end, Dallas took care of a dangerous team led by Anthony Edwards in five games.
MG: The Celtics road was easy, but they also did not play with their food and play down to their injured competition. As mentioned in a previous answer, you need to give them credit for setting themselves up for success with their regular season play. The Mavericks have had an extremely impressive journey. I personally thought the Clippers should beat them in the first round, taking down the number one seed in OKC and then beating the hottest team in the playoffs is extremely impressive. The adversity the Mavericks faced this postseason should be in their favor going into the finals.
NG: Each opponent the Celtics faced was without their best player for a part of the series. Jimmy Butler missed the whole series, and Donovan Mitchell missed the final two games. Tyrese Haliburton was out for the final two and a half games. The Celtics never faced a healthy Bucks team, a healthy Knicks team, or a healthy 76ers team. You can also nitpick the Mavs run, but by my count, the Mavs faced three 50-win teams and the Celtics faced zero.
HJ: See the answer to question one. Celtics took care of business but the Mavs had the way tougher road. No one even really describes the gentlemen’s sweep of the Timberwolves as Minnesota laying an egg. The Mavs had to gut out each victory. Same thing when the Mavs beat the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder and the perennial contender LA Clippers.
Will any legacies be affected from these Finals? Who has the most to gain/lose from this year’s finals?
NN: Jayson Tatum has the most to lose from the finals. This is the Celtics’ second appearance in three years in the Finals, after all. He struggled mightily in game six against the Warriors in 2021, and cannot have another one of those terrible performances at all against the Mavericks this series.
MG: Luka Doncic has the most to gain in this finals. If he can win the finals (and most likely Finals MVP) he puts himself into a rare historical position only being 25 years old. Jayson Tatum easily has the most pressure on him and the most to lose. They should have won 2 years ago, but got beat by the more experienced team in Golden State. But this time they have the experience and the better roster. If they don’t win they’ll get the most criticism from the media and NBA fans.
NG: This series will determine how we judge Dante Exum’s career. Just kidding. I think the media will judge the Celtics more harshly if they lose versus if the Mavs lose. Every legacy is affected after the finals, but I won’t have a vastly different view of any player or coach after this series. The Tatum/Brown duo has the most to lose in this finals. The “can’t win the big one,” narrative will start to form around them if they lose in anything other than a close series. Luka has the most to gain. He will be elevated into the, “best player in the world,” conversation and be the MVP favorite heading into next season if the Mavs win.
HJ: Several legacies are on the line. I’ll name some outside-the-box ones just for some razzle dazzle. Al Horford is currently third all-time (181 games) in playoff games played without an NBA championship and will be second all-time (182 games- John Stockton) before this series is over. Avoiding number one all-time (193- Karl Malone) will be huge for seventeen year vet. Similarly, a lot is on the line for the Celtics’ front office. They fired the coach that led them to the Finals two years ago in Ime Udoka and watched as several of their assistant coaches took jobs with other teams. All of their eggs are in the Joe Mazzulla basket and it’s a very expensive mistake if he doesn’t close the deal.
Series predictions and NBA Finals MVP?
NN: Mavs in 6. Tatum and the Celtics fail to take advantage of their second appearance in three years in the Finals, and the Mavericks win their first championship in over a decade. Doncic wins Finals MVP.
MG: Mavs in 7 and Luka is Finals MVP. This is an incredible matchup and we’re very lucky as a basketball community to see this type of star power play for the title.
NG: Mavs in six and Luka wins Finals MVP. I believe that Luka and Kyrie are about to go on an absolute heater.
HJ: Boston wins in five and Tatum controversially wins Finals MVP. Tatum’s MVP will be voters strangely STILL trying to atone for Steph Curry losing out on Finals MVP way back in 2015 to Andre Iguodala. The voting most of the glamor awards have been suspect since that Finals nearly ten years ago.
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Featured Image: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
