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Key events
Other notes from Game 1 boxscore:
– Although all the pressure is on Jayson Tatum, his teammates led the way in defeat. Jaylen Brown had 22 points; Kristaps Porzingis, as mentioned, had 20. Tatum scored 16 points. And 5 assists. And 11 fights. (But he had 6 turnovers, so the people who judge sportsmen’s heads must have been horrified.)
– Dallas’ marquee player, Luka Doncic, had 30. Kyrie Irving, however, failed to hold up his end of the bargain, scoring just 12 points on 6-for-19 shooting (0-for-5 3-pointers). Derrick Jones Jr. also had a rough night from the field, shooting 2-for-9.
– Celtics center Al Horford turned 38 last week. years. Not points. If you think that seems old, keep in mind that I saw his father, Tito Horford, play in college.
– Boston’s Daniel Gafford had an effective true shooting percentage of 103.1%. The math is complicated.
Speaking of ESPN and the lead-up to the game, one of the weirdest parts of US television programming is the NBA Layup Lines show. No one is shooting at the moment. It’s just a bunch of lights and some random images of fans waving when they realize they’re on camera.
If you’d rather revisit the pregame media extravaganzas of yesteryear, check out the iconic 1990s Chicago Bulls intro to the Alan Parsons Project song Sirius:
The Bulls still use the same music and have improved the animations, but they’re missing something without Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luke Longley, Ron Harper, and someone else… from North Carolina, obviously.
ESPN spoke with Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics big man who missed most of the playoffs with a calf injury but returned with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 21 minutes in the Celtics’ 107-89 Game 1 win.
The tip is in 41 minutes.
Preamble
Welcome to Game 2 of NBA Final. Or, as they like to call it in the sports punditocracy, another game where Jayson Tatum needs to score 87 points on 80% shooting while also having 20 rebounds and 25 assists to lead the Celtics to a 187-84 victory , or else his legacy is shot to pieces.
Seriously, we haven’t seen someone put under this much pressure to win a championship since Charles Barkley roamed the NBA courts. It seems to have turned out well, but we still didn’t have the media machine we have today.
Disclaimer: Yes, I went to Tatum’s school. Many, many years before him. Two other players who spent a total of two years at the same school — Kyrie Irving and Derek Lively II — play for the Mavericks. And they’re playing pretty well, which will be especially important tonight when Luka Doncic is battling a chest injury, which will definitely be the name of my next band. (My current band name is less medical.)
Thanks for joining me tonight. Please do Email me your thoughts for this game, the group names and USA Cricket’s victory over Pakistan.
Bo will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how our writing group saw the finales unfold (before the series began):
Celtics in six. The Mavericks have the star power, but the Celtics are the better all-around team. Dallas’ changing defense doesn’t mesh as well with Boston’s offensive style as it did against the teams they beat in the West. Doncic’s sprained right knee is also a big one. Give him enough time and Doncic can solve any defence. But is there any solution to the league’s most athletic, smartest, interchangeable group? And if Doncic is slowed to any degree by injury, the Celtics’ defense will close any potential openings. To extend that to six or seven games, Dallas will have to make an unusual number of contested shots. Irving and Doncic can deliver, but they’ll need at least two more shooters to step up. Oliver Connolly
Mavericks at seven. Conventional wisdom says that the Celtics, who have been the best team in basketball all year, should win the championship. But the conventional wisdom has never been face-to-face with Doncic during the clutch. The Mavericks are shooting hard, their role players are up to the challenge, and going with Irving over Doncic is a stretch to say the least. Claire de Lune
Celtics in four. Boston has been the best team in the league all season. And while the Mavericks’ defense reinvented itself after the deadline, they haven’t been with an offensive monster like the Celtics. Tatum and Brown are right up there with Doncic and Irving as an elite backcourt tandem. But Boston’s superior, if not deeper, supporting cast that’s been together longer, can light it up from anywhere and doesn’t have a weak link on defense will make the difference as Luca and co run out of pixie dust. Brian Graham
Mavericks at seven. The Celtics are the better and more experienced team. But their nasty habit of playing with food leaves the door open long enough for Doncic to go blind and Irving to get his revenge. Their Mavericks supporting cast, also a few shades greener than C, continues to roll behind Washington and Gafford. It’s a fun streak that ends with Boston tears, a few memes and, perhaps a bit down the line, a roster reset around Tatum. Andrew Lawrence
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