The NBA's No. 1 team Boston Celtics dominated the Western Conference champions Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a masterful 107-89 win. The Celtics' defense, depth, experience, and offensive potency was in full display as they didn't relent and knocked out the Mavs early. Dallas coach Jason Kidd waved the white flag pulling out his starters with five minutes left the score 100 to 75, the game out of reach.
The top storyline was the return of Boston center Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis was a key piece in the Celtics' regular season dominance where he averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game enroute to a league-best 64-18 record. He strained his calf in Game 4 against the Miami Heat in the first round and hasn't played in 38 days before Game 1.
The Celtics didn't need him the following games as the team beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4 to 1 and swept the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. But the Celtics are a different team, a better team with Porzingis and his return for the NBA Finals is not only timely but needed.
Despite being a league veteran with nine seasons of experience, this was Porzingis' Finals debut and first playoff game outside of the initial round. Coming of the bench, the red-hot center scored 18 first-half points allowing the Celtics to blow the game wide open early with a 29-point lead in the second quarter. His final line – 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks – underscored his importance to this Boston Celtic team.
Porzingis was creating mismatch problems all night as the Mavs switched on him in pick-and-rolls. He busted several matchups as he simply shot over smaller defenders from the elbow and from the three-point line. His presence also pulled away one Dallas big man, opening the lane for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, forcing the defense to play one-on-one on Boston drives to the basket. This is how Boston wants to play, forcing teams to bring extra defenders to the ball or to the paint that usually translates to high-percentage short-range shots or an uncontested three as they swing out to shooters.
On the defensive end, he was able to protect the rim especially against Derrick Lively and Daniel Gafford who have made a living getting alley-oop passes from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving throughout the playoffs. His presence allowed Boston to cheat on defense as they played the Mavs one-on-one knowing that Porzingis was on the backline. When Doncic started attacking him on screens, Kristaps immediately called out switches from the weak side to harass him.
The result, Doncic and company were taken out of their game, unable to adjust to Porzingis' dominance. The 89 points were the fewest points the Mavericks have scored in the playoffs. They only had nine assists in total holding Doncic to one assist. The Celtics, by comparison, had 23 assists and nine blocks.
If Dallas can't solve the Porzingis problem who creates a ton of mismatches on the offensive end, spaces the floor since he can hit from anywhere, and protects the rim on the other end, this will be a short series. He is an existential threat to the Mavericks' title hopes.
raffyrledesma@yahoo.com
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