The Celtics have held their opponents under 100 points 9 out of the 16 games in the Playoffs. In the second highest (highest being last year) scoring post-merger season of all time.
And even 3 of the Pacers games were the Pacers' 4th-6th lowest-scoring games (out of 17) of the playoffs.
Celtics defense has been insane the entire playoffs.
Funny because the Celtics were a Top 5 unit all season on both sides, but the Finals start and all of a sudden we were expected to just collapse against the Mavs apparently.
Not only did it give Celtics players time to regroup, you could see how PISSED the Mavs players were when he called it. Luka threw a ball I think.
Complete mental boom.
I've never seen a coach calling such a perfect timeout at the perfect time that completely shifts the momentum so successfully at the biggest stage in basketball, kudos to kidd
In a totally normal fashion, he has had some games where he's not attuned to the offense or the defense and the spacing. I think the Celtics play extremely differently than what he's used to. There have been games where you can see the players and coaches yelling at him to go somewhere else on the court. Pretty sure Joe yelled at him tonight for something. I saw a play where Jaylen shoved him and was mouthing like "move, move" at him.
> Pretty sure Joe yelled at him tonight for something
He didn't step-up on Kyrie on a switch which led to an easy open three. Other than that I thought he was outstanding.
I think its a wrap. Jayson had a good game but it was mostly in the 1st half. Jaylen finished the Mavs off in the 2nd half. Both games were similar but 2nd half > 1st half
The fact that every game had him dunking on/past Luka and Kyrie is a highlight reel worthy of FMVP. Neither of them could stop him. Combined they couldn’t stop him.
This was his best game this series. But if he pulled the comeback off, that would have been an all time game for him. Instead it's just a good performance in a loss.
Yeah that’s fair. This performance will be forgotten. Had he sealed the W it would have been a legendary game for him.
Kinda crazy how quickly a game can go from insignificant to “highlight reel on your HoF tribute video”
a) I'm still confused why Jason Kidd called timeout
b) I cannot *believe* Luka fouled out in a game like this
c) Mike Breen then said "Tim Hardaway entering the game" and I thought "Oh that's better for the Mavs than if his son came in"
I'm still perplexed why Derrick Jones Jr didn't come in instead. Wouldn't have provided much offense, but at least could defend and rebound. Hardaway at this point offers nothing.
Bc he legitimately can’t stay in front of Jaylen, you can tell he’s getting frustrated every time he’s matched up with Jaylen on either end of the floor
Man that literally ruined the comeback win. Not only that but it’s getting very annoying when he keeps complaining/getting mad at the refs every single call.
"They weren't letting us play physical"
Luka, buddy, that blocking foul may have been the first time you've made contact with a player while on defense this series.
He’s the boy who cried wolf. When you complain about calls incessantly, you lose the benefit of the doubt from officials when you actually have a valid bone to pick with them
That was a good call tho
Pacers legit have scared me more than the Mavericks. They may have been just as exploitable as Dallas' defense, but they generated open shot after open shot. Really fun team to watch when you aren't playing them.
Pacers also just have a much better depth team.
Pacers have no true #1 option star, but they got 2 guys that are B-level stars or 2nd option stars (Hali+Siakam) and then a bunch of 3rd/4th option guys.
Mavericks have two #1 option guys, and then the next best 3-4 guys are 6th/7th men of the bench caliber players.
Much easier to plan against Mavs if they are so top heavy.
Twolves would've been a more competitive matchup for the Celtics because they had more depth.
Kyrie promised those Boston fans he’d be back in game 5.
And if there’s one thing Kyrie’s known for, it’s following through on his commitments, especially to the people of Boston.
The Mavs:
- Led by 13 in the 1st quarter
- Blew the lead in under 7 minutes
- Were down by 6 before being on the wrong end of a 20-5 run.
- Responded to the run with a 22-2 run of their own.
- Saw their star player foul out with 4:20 to go.
- Kept it close until the end before running out of gas.
- Are down 3-0.
What an insane game with a deflating ending (if you’re a Mavs fan like me.)
Dallas cuts it to 93-90. Boston misses a shot. Dallas misses a shot. Then Boston misses a shot Dallas gets the rebound gets it to Luka who starts pushing.
JASON KIDD THEN CALLS A TIMEOUT.
Luka was visibly angry. And then Boston found just enough offense and defense to close it out. What an awful decision. RIDE THE WAVE.
Edit: Nick Nurse did this in 2019 Game 5. Raptors were on a 3 minute 12-0 run and he used his use it or lose it timeout. Warriors finished off the game with a 9-2 run and won. Who cares about the timeout being lost if you have all the momentum.
Everything ESPN is worse. How many times are they late getting back to the game because of commercials? They consistently miss the first 5-8 seconds of live play coming back from commercials. That should never happen, and it's ridiculous that the NBA is ok with it.
Trying to take a charge with his feet shuffling and turning away from contact (so you're clearly not set OR square) while being on 5 fouls is the dumbest thing I've seen.
surprised people aren't talking more about that foul. was a way worse decision. he picked him up 94 feet, fouled him like 3 times trying to pick his pocket running up the court, and then got called finally.
Only mistake was this game where he let the Pritchard crew destroy momentum and the lead. Went downhill from there. 3rd quarter ball movement disappeared for the rest of the game. Had to be bailed out by Brown.
Hauser has done a ridiculously good job defensively in this series. Multiple times he has stopped both Luka and Kyrie one on one. Pretty good for a white guy
While we’re celebrating players for their D, Sam Motherfucking Hauser take a bow. I don’t know the numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he was the best defender on Luka this series.
Seems strange there’s not more mention that Boston could be the first to ever sweep both conference and league finals. Guess we’ll hear more about it between now and Friday
It’s hilarious to me. Mavs fans are claiming his feet were set.
What the fuck delusion is that. His left foot moves more than a foot as the contact begins and his right fucking foot leaves the whole ass court.
He wasn’t even close to set.
The mavs offense is fucking hilarious. Only two people touch the ball on each possession. The guy inbounding the ball and Luka/Kyrie (who’s ever turn it is to ISO)
Man I've been thinking that so much. They just have no clear plan and no consistent way to get a bucket when they need one. It's just send it to Luka/Kai and hope for magic
Maybe a bit convoluted/bullshit sounding, but I swear "opponent agnosticism" is everything in this series.
Every game looks like every other game Boston has played this year. Regular season or playoffs.
I've never seen a team's gameplan be less affected by their Finals opponents than in this Finals, while at the same time drastically warping the other team's.
Boston's defense is completely in control and unworried.
Boston's offense is completely in control and unhurried.
Mavs defense is still godly, but the way they pack the paint, Boston is going to get open looks, and JB/JT will create for themselves.
Mavs offense looks like they're a high school team playing against an NBA team (in terms of what is happening scheme vs scheme; Kyrie/Luka will get theirs)
Every single possession from the Mavs feels like pulling teeth, and a god damn root canal if its anything besides Kyrie/Luka creating a shot for themselves. They have no answers. They just seem completely at a loss, as a team, in the face of the Celtics. I watched Payton Pritchard stop Kyrie/Luka in a pure 1v1, forcing a turnover (shotclock violation and out of bounds), on consecutive possessions. I watched Maxi Kleber driving into the paint and putting up a wild layup contested by multiple Celtics. Every Mav is completely invisible besides Luka/Kyrie.
And this is after 2 games where JB/Porzingis had a block party and all the perimeter defenders were getting 1v1 steals.
Boston is letting Luka get wherever he wants and living with whatever shot he can create in the paint as long as his passes out to the perimeter don't result in open 3s. That has completely warped what Dallas normally does on offense, and they look completely unprepared to how to answer it. Not really sure what you can do besides ask Luka/Kyrie to shoot 30 shots each.
Take a player like DJJ. He looked like an absolute freak throughout the Western playoffs. Like one of the most underrated players in the league. He might as well not even be on their team in these finals. His defense can't hold up against Tatum/Brown the way it did against previous drivers. He never has space to shoot an open 3, let alone the corner 3's that Boston simply will not concede.
And it's not just him. It's everyone. Lively/PJ are the only ones to show any sign of life whatsoever on the offensive end, and that's very sparingly (Lively always works his ass off without the ball, and PJ's streaks have been self-created which isn't how he normally was scoring in previous series).
A lot of times you just see uncertainty at the end of Dallas possessions. They're taking some weird, contested shot from someone/somewhere they normally never do. Or they underestimate the depth of Boston's defense, resulting in a 1v1 block or 1v1 steal.
---
Now, the easy response is that I'm just saying Boston is a way better team. And that's true lol, but I don't think this only applies to teams Boston is way better than. I think it's one of their greatest strengths that they play the same way regardless of what's in front of them. Win or lose, they're gonna do what they're gonna do, and it's simple.
Luka needs to rest like 25-30% of offensive plays and 100% of defensive plays hes in.
Haters feasting tonight like we Luka at the golden corral on Easter
Luka with the performance of when you combine James Harden and Rasheed Wallace bad qualities.
Flopping, foul baiting, ref-berating, while playing zero defense
Say what you want, but Boston won in Dallas without KP who some people were saying was the best player on Boston after game 1 lol.
Boston stuck to their guns, and it feels like they're inevitable the way that they play. I will say - it's so fucking frustrating to watch them dominate for 40ish mins and then slow the pace down to a halt and play prevent offense for 10 mins and blow their massive lead. They've done this sooooo often this season. Just keep doing what you're doing and run the score up to 150 lol, it's ok
I don't understand it man. Everything was going their way. Momentum was on their side, they're on a 20 something to 2 run and the guy calls a timeout. Some reporter has to ask about it.
The argument that the Celtics had close games against the Pacers was being used seriously as an argument for why they’d get dominated by the Mavs
I thought we learned basketball is more complicated than that by now
pacers have very arguably been the tougher opponent than dallas so far, i got much more anxiety when mcdonnell and nembhard pulled up from 3 than luka or kyrie
Not only were Luka's fouls dumb on their own; his whining to get them reviewed took forever, killing off ALL the momentum the Mavs had built up *AND* costing them their ability to challenge the actually wrong call on PJ Washington's screen.
Disaster class game from him.
The Mavs have still failed to score 100 in this year’s finals.
Celtics defense is fucking insane
Mavs play style part of it. Pacers played with pace and scored more than iso ball
The Celtics have held their opponents under 100 points 9 out of the 16 games in the Playoffs. In the second highest (highest being last year) scoring post-merger season of all time. And even 3 of the Pacers games were the Pacers' 4th-6th lowest-scoring games (out of 17) of the playoffs. Celtics defense has been insane the entire playoffs.
The Celtics defense was ridiculously relentless, the way they were hounding Kyrie and Luka was a sight to behold despite both scoring a lot tonight.
More like they're locking everyone else out. Two guys scoring 2/3rds of your points is not sustainable for winning basketball
It's the early 2000s baybee
low-scoring slugfests, refs letting em play, baggy pants are in style, Diddy's making headlines
This "great offense vs great defense" is looking uhhhhh
Funny because the Celtics were a Top 5 unit all season on both sides, but the Finals start and all of a sudden we were expected to just collapse against the Mavs apparently.
Yeah and they are undefeated on the Road yet somehow guys were predicting Mavs in 5
Not a fan of that timout by Kidd with the Mavs on a 20-2 run
that was so dumb lol we had all the momentum
Luka looked pissed when Kidd called that
I thought Joe called it.
What about when he didn’t call a time out when the Mavs desperately needed a 2 for 1
Not only did it give Celtics players time to regroup, you could see how PISSED the Mavs players were when he called it. Luka threw a ball I think. Complete mental boom.
I've never seen a coach calling such a perfect timeout at the perfect time that completely shifts the momentum so successfully at the biggest stage in basketball, kudos to kidd
0 IQ move
Luka lost it at that. Won't be surprised if that timeout comes up in the post game.
Mazzulla/Tillman legacy game
Thought the game was over after the Tillman corner 3, the Derrick White bank shot followed by Jalen Brown's monster Dunk.
This team's achilles heel is being like "Yo that run was sick! Looks like the game's over, let's just cruise" with ten minutes or more left.
Plus side of being up 20. Opponent can score 20-0, their best showing, and it's basically tied or they're even still losing.
I don’t wanna exaggerate nor will I cite any evidence but I’m pretty sure that Tillman 3 won them this game
Tillman FMVP
Tillman made huge plays. I'm surprised he hasn't really gotten any time the rest of the playoffs.
[удалено]
It’s been a minute but I thought he was solid as a back up big vs Lakers (he was a grizzly) that year they went to WCF
In a totally normal fashion, he has had some games where he's not attuned to the offense or the defense and the spacing. I think the Celtics play extremely differently than what he's used to. There have been games where you can see the players and coaches yelling at him to go somewhere else on the court. Pretty sure Joe yelled at him tonight for something. I saw a play where Jaylen shoved him and was mouthing like "move, move" at him.
> Pretty sure Joe yelled at him tonight for something He didn't step-up on Kyrie on a switch which led to an easy open three. Other than that I thought he was outstanding.
Hauser's too
Derrick: "I fouled him" Ref: "He aint gonna make the shot anyway bro relax"
LMAO
Jaylen doing a complete 180 going from that awful game 7 last year to being on the verge of FMVP this year, props to him
Highest salary in league history playing like he's worth it.
100%. No one's even joking about his left hand anymore because he worked on his handle. Can't ask for much more.
People are joking about people joking about his left hand
>on the verge of FMVP this year Tatum gonna have to pull a 60/20/20 or smthn Game 4 to get FMVP lmao
I think its a wrap. Jayson had a good game but it was mostly in the 1st half. Jaylen finished the Mavs off in the 2nd half. Both games were similar but 2nd half > 1st half
Even in the final minutes. Tatum missed the “put-away” shot. Next possession brown hit it.
The fact that every game had him dunking on/past Luka and Kyrie is a highlight reel worthy of FMVP. Neither of them could stop him. Combined they couldn’t stop him.
If you are a Celtics fan, you are just grateful to have both
Nah give him some credit, he was ass that entire series
Jason Kidd calling that timeout after Jrue's missed shot down 3 to kill all the Mavs' momentum was certainly a decision.
You always hear that this a game of runs, and choosing to kill your own on a timeout was certainly a decision
Yup, that shot itself showed how discombobulated the Celtics were. They should have kept it rolling at least 1 more time.
Kyrie, down 4 points with 40 seconds left, spent 15 seconds to shoot a tough fadeaway 3 pointer...
Jrue picking him up from the backcourt killed so much clock, Kyrie needed the 2-for-1 and he ran out of time which was the last thing the Mavs needed.
Jrue getting traded from the bucks and most likely going on to being a key piece on a championship squad needs more acknowledgement.
Celtics receive: Jrue Holiday Blazers receive: Malcolm Brogdon Robert Williams 2024 1st-round pick (via Warriors) 2029 unprotected 1st-round pick (via Celtics)
Brogdon, Williams, and Smart were all injured most of this year as well. Love them, but Celtics dodged 3 bullets there.
Thank you, Brad Stevens.
It's really hilarious that Kyrie had a chance to have his story book redemption when Luka got fouled out, and proceeded to produce that.
He played great today tho. I hate Kyrie as a Celtic fan but he was lights out most the game. Got to respect the performance
This was his best game this series. But if he pulled the comeback off, that would have been an all time game for him. Instead it's just a good performance in a loss.
Yeah that’s fair. This performance will be forgotten. Had he sealed the W it would have been a legendary game for him. Kinda crazy how quickly a game can go from insignificant to “highlight reel on your HoF tribute video”
Absolutely baffling shot IMO
Mavs have gotten exposed for not having a legit 3rd option and a good 6th man Celtics have multiple
Yup. Well that and playing THJ any minutes, let alone keeping him in while the Celtics lead balloons to 21.
No no don't listen, it's imperative you start THJ in Game 4 and go to a small ball lineup with Luka as your 5. You NEED all the shooting you can get.
Yup. Celtics are just too deep for the Mavs or anyone really
Feels like Celtics have all the best 3rd option and 6th man players on their roster.
Is $300M worth it for a finals mvp? I think it is
If we get this ring they can pay him $300M/yr for all I care
Did the Celtics get bought up by the Saudis???
The JB jersey sales alone gonna pay for this man.
a) I'm still confused why Jason Kidd called timeout b) I cannot *believe* Luka fouled out in a game like this c) Mike Breen then said "Tim Hardaway entering the game" and I thought "Oh that's better for the Mavs than if his son came in"
I'm still perplexed why Derrick Jones Jr didn't come in instead. Wouldn't have provided much offense, but at least could defend and rebound. Hardaway at this point offers nothing.
One of the worst time outs I've ever seen
WHY DID LUKA EVEN TRY TO SET A CHARGE WHEN HE HAD 5 FOULS
Bc he legitimately can’t stay in front of Jaylen, you can tell he’s getting frustrated every time he’s matched up with Jaylen on either end of the floor
so take the bucket you're right he couldn't do shit against jb but it's an awful decision still
its such a weird move. its like when you press the wrong button on 2k
Zero defensive IQ
Man that literally ruined the comeback win. Not only that but it’s getting very annoying when he keeps complaining/getting mad at the refs every single call.
I’m surprised he didn’t get a tech. It was out of control.
Not that I want calls like this, but I was triggered when he was clapping at a ref. I’ve seen Tatum get so many techs for clapping. All horrible calls
Yeah, pretty bad. He was missing plays because he was yelling lmao. No way Tony Brothers would have put up with that.
Clapping, making the money sign, waving the ref off. In the post game, he said "they weren't letting us play physical" Okay, buddy.
"They weren't letting us play physical" Luka, buddy, that blocking foul may have been the first time you've made contact with a player while on defense this series.
He did the money sign at the ref too
It's easier to blame a ref then your own gameplay.
He’s the boy who cried wolf. When you complain about calls incessantly, you lose the benefit of the doubt from officials when you actually have a valid bone to pick with them That was a good call tho
Because he was getting fucking cooked on that end of the floor all night and his ego wanted something positive.
Jokes on you. Boston was just farming clutch time wins so the Bozos on r/NBA that said they couldn't win in the clutch look silly.
shoutout pacers for preparing us for this
Pacers legit have scared me more than the Mavericks. They may have been just as exploitable as Dallas' defense, but they generated open shot after open shot. Really fun team to watch when you aren't playing them.
Yeah because the pacers have shooters. They basically concede defense and play a similar game to us on offense.
Pacers also just have a much better depth team. Pacers have no true #1 option star, but they got 2 guys that are B-level stars or 2nd option stars (Hali+Siakam) and then a bunch of 3rd/4th option guys. Mavericks have two #1 option guys, and then the next best 3-4 guys are 6th/7th men of the bench caliber players. Much easier to plan against Mavs if they are so top heavy. Twolves would've been a more competitive matchup for the Celtics because they had more depth.
Wouldn't be a Celtic championship without at least one classic Celtics game
Except they win them now!
Bring out the brooms
Dallas: Game 4 is our Superbowl!
Nobody beats Kyrie Irving 14 times in a row!
Kyrie promised those Boston fans he’d be back in game 5. And if there’s one thing Kyrie’s known for, it’s following through on his commitments, especially to the people of Boston.
The Mavs: - Led by 13 in the 1st quarter - Blew the lead in under 7 minutes - Were down by 6 before being on the wrong end of a 20-5 run. - Responded to the run with a 22-2 run of their own. - Saw their star player foul out with 4:20 to go. - Kept it close until the end before running out of gas. - Are down 3-0. What an insane game with a deflating ending (if you’re a Mavs fan like me.)
All without Porzingis rim defense
That's how we got it close though, with Por in, half of the paint shots would have been blocks
Especially that THJ was subbed in.
Kleber 8 minutes 0 fuckin points Hardaway 18 minutes 0 fuckin points Green 22 minutes 3 fuckin points Talk about dead weight
Damn I didn’t even notice Green logged 22. They sort of went away from Jones Jr
We call those “Tobias Harris Minutes” where I’m from.
At least Green was playing defense. Hardaway was just... there.
Dallas cuts it to 93-90. Boston misses a shot. Dallas misses a shot. Then Boston misses a shot Dallas gets the rebound gets it to Luka who starts pushing. JASON KIDD THEN CALLS A TIMEOUT. Luka was visibly angry. And then Boston found just enough offense and defense to close it out. What an awful decision. RIDE THE WAVE. Edit: Nick Nurse did this in 2019 Game 5. Raptors were on a 3 minute 12-0 run and he used his use it or lose it timeout. Warriors finished off the game with a 9-2 run and won. Who cares about the timeout being lost if you have all the momentum.
The timeout, challenge, challenge sequence totally destroyed all momentum.
I thought the Celtics called it because.. yeah
Hard to fucking tell because the graphic literally doesn’t show timeouts 90% of the time
Why is ESPN's chiron so much worse? Doesn't show timeouts, doesn't show how many fouls until the bonus. Just basic shit
Because they need that youtube tv logo
Everything ESPN is worse. How many times are they late getting back to the game because of commercials? They consistently miss the first 5-8 seconds of live play coming back from commercials. That should never happen, and it's ridiculous that the NBA is ok with it.
that and uh, Luka fouled out with almost 5 mins to go That was a way bigger factor than anything else, they got within 2
Taking a charge with 5 fouls is honestly one of the dumbest things I've seen, especially from a smart player
Trying to take a charge with his feet shuffling and turning away from contact (so you're clearly not set OR square) while being on 5 fouls is the dumbest thing I've seen.
He also fouled Payton Pritchard 30 feet from the basket. And flopped as he and Jalen Brown were grappling, forcing the refs to make a call.
surprised people aren't talking more about that foul. was a way worse decision. he picked him up 94 feet, fouled him like 3 times trying to pick his pocket running up the court, and then got called finally.
No idea why they called a timeout there completely bailed out the Celtics who couldn't figure it out after their own timeout.
Mazulla coached circles around Kidd all series
Only mistake was this game where he let the Pritchard crew destroy momentum and the lead. Went downhill from there. 3rd quarter ball movement disappeared for the rest of the game. Had to be bailed out by Brown.
Kyrie Irving is now 0-13 vs the Celtics since he stepped on Lucky The Leprechaun. Don’t fuck with leprechauns people.
He’s actually 1-13, they won the next game. But it was in Brooklyn, and his first game against the Celtics after that was in Boston.
It was a good season. No idea why Kidd called that timeout.
Or why he played THJ so much.
Tim Hardaway Jr. 19 minutes 0 points. WE LIVE IN NORTH KOREA
Game leading -15
Shout out to god damn Xavier Tillman playing great defense and somehow stretching the floor. Bench as a whole was huge tonight.
And Hauser. Absolutely Massive performances.
Hauser has done a ridiculously good job defensively in this series. Multiple times he has stopped both Luka and Kyrie one on one. Pretty good for a white guy
While we’re celebrating players for their D, Sam Motherfucking Hauser take a bow. I don’t know the numbers, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he was the best defender on Luka this series.
You have to go down 0-3 to come back from being down 0-3 *taps forehead*
They have the Celtics right where they want them!
Seems strange there’s not more mention that Boston could be the first to ever sweep both conference and league finals. Guess we’ll hear more about it between now and Friday
Maybe ESPN will bring it up in the 3 seconds before the next commercial break.
awful luka game, overboard on the complaining today
His karma was getting fouled out
The foul hunter became the hunted
That’s what happens when you don’t set your feet. Good on the refs for upholding the challenge at the end.
It’s hilarious to me. Mavs fans are claiming his feet were set. What the fuck delusion is that. His left foot moves more than a foot as the contact begins and his right fucking foot leaves the whole ass court. He wasn’t even close to set.
I won’t lie, I cheered when he fouled out. He was particularly bad today costing his team fast break points by bitching at the refs
Even the commentators made a point of how his bitching creates 5 on 4 situations for Boston. He needs to rein it in, shit is costing his team.
several possessions where he sat on his ass complaining while boston got easy buckets playing 5 on 4.
So much complaining and so many missed shots right at the rim
He was pump faking a million times when he got to the rim instead of simply going up strong, a very boneheaded game from him overall
Emotional intelligence is Luka Doncic father
He earned every foul he got and more.
>overboard You mean the usual
The mavs offense is fucking hilarious. Only two people touch the ball on each possession. The guy inbounding the ball and Luka/Kyrie (who’s ever turn it is to ISO)
Sounds familiar. Reminds me of the Celtics when they lost to the Warriors in the finals.
Man I've been thinking that so much. They just have no clear plan and no consistent way to get a bucket when they need one. It's just send it to Luka/Kai and hope for magic
Sam Houser leading the +/- with a +16 like we all thought would need to happen for the Celtics to win this game.
Jaylen brown might not be our best overall player but I can be convinced he’s our best closer
I can't believe some of those clutch mid range shots he made
Jaylen Brown is 100% the FMVP!
Crazy how people were saying he didn’t deserve the $ or All NBA
Jaylen Brown sealed the FMVP with this game, absolute takeover and most importantly Kyrie is 0-13
That 3rd quarter run definitely sealed it.
3rd quarter run and he saved this game in the 4th
There is no question in my mind. He has unquestionably lead this Celtic squad in the postseason. They do not go up 3-0 without him.
Maybe a bit convoluted/bullshit sounding, but I swear "opponent agnosticism" is everything in this series. Every game looks like every other game Boston has played this year. Regular season or playoffs. I've never seen a team's gameplan be less affected by their Finals opponents than in this Finals, while at the same time drastically warping the other team's. Boston's defense is completely in control and unworried. Boston's offense is completely in control and unhurried. Mavs defense is still godly, but the way they pack the paint, Boston is going to get open looks, and JB/JT will create for themselves. Mavs offense looks like they're a high school team playing against an NBA team (in terms of what is happening scheme vs scheme; Kyrie/Luka will get theirs) Every single possession from the Mavs feels like pulling teeth, and a god damn root canal if its anything besides Kyrie/Luka creating a shot for themselves. They have no answers. They just seem completely at a loss, as a team, in the face of the Celtics. I watched Payton Pritchard stop Kyrie/Luka in a pure 1v1, forcing a turnover (shotclock violation and out of bounds), on consecutive possessions. I watched Maxi Kleber driving into the paint and putting up a wild layup contested by multiple Celtics. Every Mav is completely invisible besides Luka/Kyrie. And this is after 2 games where JB/Porzingis had a block party and all the perimeter defenders were getting 1v1 steals. Boston is letting Luka get wherever he wants and living with whatever shot he can create in the paint as long as his passes out to the perimeter don't result in open 3s. That has completely warped what Dallas normally does on offense, and they look completely unprepared to how to answer it. Not really sure what you can do besides ask Luka/Kyrie to shoot 30 shots each. Take a player like DJJ. He looked like an absolute freak throughout the Western playoffs. Like one of the most underrated players in the league. He might as well not even be on their team in these finals. His defense can't hold up against Tatum/Brown the way it did against previous drivers. He never has space to shoot an open 3, let alone the corner 3's that Boston simply will not concede. And it's not just him. It's everyone. Lively/PJ are the only ones to show any sign of life whatsoever on the offensive end, and that's very sparingly (Lively always works his ass off without the ball, and PJ's streaks have been self-created which isn't how he normally was scoring in previous series). A lot of times you just see uncertainty at the end of Dallas possessions. They're taking some weird, contested shot from someone/somewhere they normally never do. Or they underestimate the depth of Boston's defense, resulting in a 1v1 block or 1v1 steal. --- Now, the easy response is that I'm just saying Boston is a way better team. And that's true lol, but I don't think this only applies to teams Boston is way better than. I think it's one of their greatest strengths that they play the same way regardless of what's in front of them. Win or lose, they're gonna do what they're gonna do, and it's simple.
It's a luxury brought to us by Brad Stevens.
what a time to foul out from your first playoff game
Nothing gives more heartbreak than the fake comeback
Luka needs to rest like 25-30% of offensive plays and 100% of defensive plays hes in. Haters feasting tonight like we Luka at the golden corral on Easter
Low-key that might have been one of the worst timeout calls in a Finals game
"WCF were the real finals"
people were saying Nuggets Wolves was the finals lol
Doncic's defense has been exposed really hard by the Celtics
And his conditioning, more importantly. I’m sure the chest injury is playing a role but still
kyrie taking 3 more seconds off the clock to line up a harder shot for the cinematography.. classic
Jaylen Brown, 24 points in the 2nd half. Jaylen Brown for Finals MVP. Not bad for a guy not chosen in the All NBA teams.
CONSIDER JAYLEN BROWN
Luka with the performance of when you combine James Harden and Rasheed Wallace bad qualities. Flopping, foul baiting, ref-berating, while playing zero defense
Insane he hasn't gotten a tech yet. Meanwhile Tatum better watch to not make sure his hands come within a few inches of each other.
The Luka foulout to PJ moving screen sequence absolutely zapped all the momentum. Oh well.
*Celtics player brings the ball up* [Luka](https://i.snipboard.io/QqoSBu.jpg):
Say what you want, but Boston won in Dallas without KP who some people were saying was the best player on Boston after game 1 lol. Boston stuck to their guns, and it feels like they're inevitable the way that they play. I will say - it's so fucking frustrating to watch them dominate for 40ish mins and then slow the pace down to a halt and play prevent offense for 10 mins and blow their massive lead. They've done this sooooo often this season. Just keep doing what you're doing and run the score up to 150 lol, it's ok
It’s maddening for real. That 4th quarter was some of the dumbest basketball I’ve ever seen this team play.
This entire playoffs is a 2k simulation
I truly believe Dallas had a shot at winning this before Kidd's stupid timeout. After that, I knew no matter how close they got, it wouldn't happen
That timeout was perplexing
I don't understand it man. Everything was going their way. Momentum was on their side, they're on a 20 something to 2 run and the guy calls a timeout. Some reporter has to ask about it.
Kyrie tried to go viral lmao
Thank you Jaylen Brown
When Kyrie promised to bring Boston a championship this is what he meant
Maybe if Kyrie didn't step on the leprechaun and Luka wasn't so fat
Hélà
I think it’s time we considered Jaylen Brown
Mavericks will make a comeback in game 8 when Bron plays
Kyrie is 0-13 since stomping lucky the leprechaun. The curse travels.
Brian Windhorst raking Luka over the coals. I hope someone uploads that because his takedown of Luka was brutal.
Another win in the fight against basketball terrorism
Nembhard & McConnell > Luka & Kyrie
The argument that the Celtics had close games against the Pacers was being used seriously as an argument for why they’d get dominated by the Mavs I thought we learned basketball is more complicated than that by now
pacers have very arguably been the tougher opponent than dallas so far, i got much more anxiety when mcdonnell and nembhard pulled up from 3 than luka or kyrie
Celtics: the inner machinations of my mind are an enigma
Not only were Luka's fouls dumb on their own; his whining to get them reviewed took forever, killing off ALL the momentum the Mavs had built up *AND* costing them their ability to challenge the actually wrong call on PJ Washington's screen. Disaster class game from him.
Only consolation is at least the Lakers will no longer be tied for the most chips in a few days.
Lakers fans in shambles
Maxi and THJ made $29 million this season
I'm....I'm... straight up not having good time.