Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics played out exactly the way many analysts thought it would. The Celtics simply have too much firepower and floor-spacing, and on Thursday night, their shooting was the differentiator in a 107-89 victory to start off the series. They made 16 threes at a 38.1 percent clip, while the Mavs scuffled to the tune of a 7-27 night from downtown, with Luka Doncic struggling to get any help from his teammates.
In what appears to be a turn of events for Hall of Famer Grant Hill, he sees the 2024 Mavericks as a similar team to the Celtics squad that lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals. Hill is now raring to see how the Mavericks adjust in the face of adversity, which the Celtics team failed to do two years ago.
“Two years ago, Golden State outclassed Boston. They were able to win the series. Dallas looked like Boston did two years ago. The moment [got] too big. So how do they regroup? Can they come back with the right mentality? Boston, today, looked like Golden State two years ago when they played against them,” Hill said during NBA TV's Finals postgame show.
The Mavericks' stars looked very much like they belonged. Luka Doncic is as calm as it's going to get, even while playing in the most hostile environments, and Kyrie Irving has been in this position before. But the members of the supporting cast had a few deer in the headlights moments.
Derrick Jones Jr. saw his shot get stuffed at the rim on multiple occasions. Dereck Lively II looked very antsy, and it resulted in him being in foul trouble. Daniel Gafford wasn't his usual disruptive self on the glass. The Mavericks will need them to be better moving forward.
Is Grant Hill right in comparing the 2024 Mavericks to the 2022 Celtics?
It's important to note that the Celtics actually won Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Warriors. Behind a stellar fourth quarter, the Celtics turned the game upside down by coming back from a 12-point deficit to start the period to win by 12, 120-108 to start off the series on the right note.The Celtics even took a 2-1 series lead with a 116-100 Game 3 win which they led for all but 33 seconds.
Alas, the Warriors, due to their championship mettle, did not go away. Stephen Curry put up arguably the most iconic performance of his career in Game 4 of that series. He went off for 43 points to prevent the Dubs from going down 3-1 in the series, and they proceeded to rattle off three straight wins against the Celtics to win their fourth championship of the past decade.
Like Grant Hill said, the Warriors punched the Celtics in the mouth with that tide-turning Game 4, and Boston was not able to recover. Jayson Tatum, in particular, failed to respond the way one would expect the team's best player to in the face of adversity. He went 6-18 in Game 6 in a performance that simply was not good enough to win the title.
Of course, it's still too early to tell whether or not the Mavericks could bounce back after a dispiriting Game 1 performance. But they must play with a greater sense of urgency and purpose to avoid falling to the same fate the Celtics did two years ago.
“You got to come out and play with some more force. I thought Boston punched them in the mouth [during] the first quarter and they were just kinda staggered and on their heels for the rest of the game. They played with force and confidence in the Minnesota and really, throughout the playoffs. Sometimes, it's not Xs and Os. Sometimes, it's about, ‘We gotta strap on and we gotta come and bring it,'” Hill added.
Adjustments time for Jason Kidd and the Mavs
The Mavericks must play with greater effort across the board, as Grant Hill suggested. If they were to stick to their coverages and rotation in Game 1, then they must be more on point with their defensive rotations, and they must not allow the Celtics to outplay them on the glass. Dominating the rebounding battle has been one of Dallas' keys to success throughout the playoffs, so it's inexcusable for them to lose on the boards like they did in Game 1.
But there is a chance that Kidd could opt for some more defensive versatility on the perimeter. The option is there for the Mavs to deploy Maxi Kleber or PJ Washington as a small-ball five to improve their ability to defend in space. But will doing so be worth it, especially when it will require Dallas to stray away from what has been working for them throughout this year's postseason?
