{"id":12344,"date":"2024-06-06T01:11:08","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T01:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12344"},"modified":"2024-06-06T03:02:58","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T03:02:58","slug":"three-phases-that-make-boston-celtics-nba-champions-over-dallas-mavericks-mintah-writes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12344","title":{"rendered":"Three phases that make Boston Celtics NBA Champions over Dallas Mavericks MINTAH Writes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 43 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

On sheer levels of attrition enroute to the NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference winners Boston Celtics will emerge as NBA Champions at the expense of the Western Conference winners Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n

Unlike Boston, Dallas endured significant battles with Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves before reaching its first NBA Finals since winning it all in 2011.<\/p>\n

OKC Thunder\u2019s youth led movement represent apex athleticism that tested the Mavericks speed and stamina while the very physical Timberwolves brought toughness that further sapped energy from the Dallas folks.<\/p>\n

For Boston, they battled Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler, Cleveland Cavaliers that had its best player Donovan Mitchell miss time in the playoff series as did the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals that had Tyrese Haliburton hobbled by a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

Kyle Anderson attempts to block Luka Doncic\u2019s shot attempt Photo Courtesy: AP<\/em><\/p>\n

Boston have certainly had an easier run to this year\u2019s NBA Finals than its opponent and Mavericks\u2019 star Guard Luka Doncic\u2019s physical state is representative of this.<\/p>\n

The Slovenian international, who will compete for his country in a FIBA qualification tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics after the NBA Finals, has been dealing with a knee sprain and an ankle injury throughout the playoffs and will get tested against Boston.<\/p>\n

Luka Doncic Photo Courtesy: ESPN<\/em><\/p>\n

However, the good news for Dallas Mavericks is that the NBA Finals simply doesn\u2019t work this way and the spaced out games in the best of seven games series, coupled with technology, give the Mavericks a huge chance to walk into the series as physically ready as possible.<\/p>\n

Well, this is where the good news ends for Dallas as Boston Celtics hold the advantage in three critical categories that make them favourites to win the 2023-2024 NBA season title. For Boston, winning this year\u2019s championship would be the team\u2019s 18th in history and push them ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA franchise with the most titles.<\/p>\n

Jayson Tatum Photo Courtesy: AP<\/p>\n

Boston edge Dallas on Offense<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the playoffs, the Boston Celtics hold the best offensive rating (120.1 points per game) ahead of sixth ranked Dallas Mavericks (116.6 points per game). Boston\u2019s \u201cmore inclusive<\/strong>\u201d offense has put up more points on the board simply by involving more players to score the basket.<\/p>\n

Jayson Tatum #0 and Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler\/NBAE via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s offense goes beyond its two best players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown; Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Derrick White have consistently scored in double digits throughout the playoffs. However, the Mavericks sixth ranked offensive rating is down to relatively \u201climited<\/strong>\u201d production from players other than Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.<\/p>\n

Not to say, P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, Tim Hardaway Jnr. and Daniel Gafford have produced anemic scoring numbers but their production doesn\u2019t match Boston\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Holiday and Al Horford Photo Courtesy: BBC<\/em><\/p>\n

The Celtics\u2019 high scoring ranking is no fluke either as Boston ranked second in offensive rating at the end of the regular season with Dallas scoring a similar mark as its post season production by ranking seventh. A four point average difference Boston hold is more than enough to decide the NBA Finals winner in what is bound to be a closely fought series.<\/p>\n

Boston edge Dallas on Defense<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Derrick White blocks Kevin Love\u2019s shot attempt Photo Courtesy: Yahoo Sports<\/em><\/p>\n

Offense win games, defense win championship is the long held clich\u00e9 in sports\u2019 critical moments and that holds through based on the time a team leans into either side of the aforementioned clich\u00e9\u2019s scope.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid won a record extending 15th UEFA Champions League title by defending well, mostly in the first half with a bit of luck against Borussia Dortmund but turned on the offensive style in the second half to bag a 2-0 win.<\/p>\n

Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry (Photo By Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n

The NBA\u2019s last dynasty tag held by the Golden State Warriors played this \u201cflip game\u201d very well by using its game changing SMALL BALL<\/strong> system to slow down opponents offenses while using the system\u2019s in-built speed to kill teams on the defensive end.<\/p>\n

In this year\u2019s Finals, Boston holds the edge over Dallas in defensive rating by three spots. The eliminated Orlando Magic and OKC Thunder hold the top two spots in defensive rating ranking with Boston spotted third and Dallas ranked sixth.<\/p>\n

Derrick White #9 of the Boston Celtics (Photo by Jason Miller\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n

Like its offense, Boston can count on more players to produce on the less glamourous side of the court with Jaylen Brown and NBA All Defensive Second Team members Jrue Holiday and Derrick White ranked highly defensively.<\/p>\n

While Al Horford and Jayson Tatum aren\u2019t stellar defenders they aren\u2019t slouch defenders either. On the flip side, Doncic and Kyrie have fared well defensively in these playoffs but fall short of the quality Tatum, Brown, Holiday and Boston bring to the table.<\/p>\n

Jrue Holiday attempts to block TJ McConnell\u2019s shot Photo Courtesy: AP<\/em><\/p>\n

Boston have the NBA Finals X Factor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In such a closely matched Finals, having an ace card to play is sure to give the wielder an edge and in this series, Boston Celtics hold that ace card.<\/p>\n

Others simply refer to this advantage as an X factor and no X Factor comes bigger and better than a 7 foot 2 inch player who scores close to the rim and doubles as a dangerous scorer from three point range and averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 57 regular season games.<\/p>\n

Porzingis shoots ball over Adebyao Photo Courtesy: Hardwood Heroics<\/em><\/p>\n

Kristaps Porzingis has missed the entire playoffs this season due to a calf injury that has kept him out of action since April 29 and is in line to play the series opener on June 7. Despite admitting he isn\u2019t fully healthy, Porzingis plans to play and getting the chance to win the NBA title ahead of his former team is sure to be enough motivation to get the big Latvian to play a key role in this series.<\/p>\n

Kyrie Irving attempts shot Photo Courtesy: AP<\/em><\/p>\n

The storylines in this series are so beautiful as Porzingis isn\u2019t the only player facing his former team with the enigmatic Kyrie Irving doing same after bolting Boston for Brooklyn Nets following a disappointing two-year stint with the Celtics.<\/p>\n

Jayson Tatum Photo Courtesy: Yahoo Sports<\/em><\/p>\n

Barring a shock drop in production at both ends or a significant injury loss, the Boston Celtics hold the edge over Dallas Mavericks and should ride on these advantages to win it all this year.<\/p>

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On sheer levels of attrition enroute to the NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference winners Boston Celtics will emerge as NBA Champions at the expense of the Western Conference winners Dallas… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"yes","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12532,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12344\/revisions\/12532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}