Poll: Mavericks vs. Celtics Series Predictions

[Vermont Green]

No predictions, too superstitious.  I expect most of if not all books to have BOS favored (we are -225 right now on ESPN Bet).

As many have said, Luka + Kyrie vs. Tatum + Brown should be fairly even but favor BOS.  It may be close or could bounce back and forth game to game.  Tatum is only 29% from 3 in the playoffs.  He will need to do better than that (and I think he will).  Luka is about 34% from 3 for the playoffs.  BOS will need the big guns to perform (as will DAL if they are to have any chance).

I see it coming down to what guys like Jones + Washington + Green + ????? can do as compared to Holiday + White + Pritchard + Hauser.  On paper, we should win this grouping, at least when White and Holiday are on the floor.  I know these guys don't match up one for one by position, but this to me is the secondary scoring grouping.  The guys that will need to make shots when the primary guys are double teamed.  Jones and Washington play starter minutes, like White and Holiday.  They have been pretty good in the playoffs.

As to the bigs, they have Gafford + Lively + Kleber, we have Porzingis (hopefully) + Horford + Kornet/Tillman.  Again, on paper, we should win this grouping also.  Kleber gives them a different look than Gafford and Lively but he has been hurt.  Horford and Porzingis can provide a level of scoring and spacing that DAL can't get from their guys.

[celticinorlando]

If Boston can get JT to improve from 3 and Hauser to get back to his norm from 3 I am pretty confident the Cs win the series.

[Redz]

It's this group's time to shine.  Celts in 5 or 6.  Just too deep and battle-tested. 

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

This is it. Time to finally finish the job. I'm sure it'll be ugly at times, because Doncic and Irving can do some real damage, but that's just the way it is (usually) in the NBA Finals. Cs in 6.

[celticinorlando]

I think the we have not seen anything close to the Cs ceiling yet. They did what they needed to to win the East but I still think they have been waiting until this moment to unleash it.

[Phantom255x]

I've gone with Cs in 6 every series, since it seemed like a safe bet. None of the series have gone 6. So I'll pick the Celtics in 6.

Here's a preview of how it's going to go:

Game 1) Dallas goes up 1-0, winning 104-95. Shocker in Boston, as the Celtics seem to come in without a game plan and Luka remains hot. Lively dominates in the paint in KP's first game back, and KP looks disjointed. The media goes nuts and declares the series over. Celticsstrong generates the longest single game thread ever, blaming Tatum's weakness from 3, Brown's turnovers and, of course, Joe's coaching.

Game 2) Tied, 1-1. The Celtics win 120-109. The series "normalizes itself," as Luka remains hot but KP looks more like the old KP, even if he isn't back to mid-season form. Brown gets hot, Jrue bears down on D and the crowd shows up after being silent through most of Game 1. Boston area schools on Monday, June 10 all start an hour late, as 57% of the students stayed up after 11pm to watch the end of the game.

Game 3) Celtics up, 2-1. Finally, the blowout that we were looking for, winning 130-112 in a game that really isn't that close. Everyone on the Celtics shows up and they actually look like they are having fun out there, as Joe rests the starters with a 20 point lead and three minutes left in the game.

Game 4) Tied, 2-2. The Game 2 curse hits, this time on the road, as Dallas wins 111-98. Kyrie dominates with 42 points. The Celtics shoot 24% from 3 in the first half and seemingly forget how to pass the ball, with ISO 3s dominating their play calling, despite the fact that they seem to be able to drive to the basket unimpeded. After the game, Mazzulla simply says, "We have to play better," as the Celticsstrong community bangs its collective foreheads against the wall.

Game 5) Celtics, 3-2. Another recovery game for the Celtics, who win 102-90. Shooting continues to be poor, but the Celtics get nasty on defense and shut down Luka and Kyrie at the perimeter. Media now switches to the Celtics to close it out at home and wonders why the Celtics couldn't have played that level of defense for the entire series. Celticsstrongers agree.

Game 6) Bring out the duckboats! 131-102. Kyrie, realizing that a win means he needs to go back to Boston, curls up in the corner and begs for LeBron. Luka has a solid but not perfect game and Lively plays like, well, a rookie in a close-out game. Celticsstrong crashes due to the large number of Ric Flair memes that are posted.

Two things that I am worried about:

The image of Rocky leaning over a dying Mickey, telling him that the fight only lasted two rounds, not telling Mickey that Mr. T had won. Really don't want that to be us in Mike Gorman's last year.

Game 7 is on the night of my anniversary. I'm trying to think of options here. So far, faking my own death for 24 hours is the best that I can come up with.

Mike

[liam]

Tillman has experience guarding Luka and Kyrie:

https://www.tiktok.com/@legendz_nba/video/7322663844994764078

https://x.com/CelticsFiles/status/1764086799398302105

[dannyboy35]

If KP plays starter minutes Celts in 7. If not or if he doesn’t come back Mavs in 6.

[Damiano Brancopreto]

Is this Dallas team backcourt better than the one we faced 2 years ago? Possibly yes but they have to demonstrate it in the final
Is the rest of this Dallas team better than the rest of the team we faced 2 years ago? No way
Are we better and not exhausted like two years ago? For sure
C's in 6
but we need KP

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

If KP plays starter minutes Celts in 7. If not or if he doesn’t come back Mavs in 6.

k keep me posted

[celticinorlando]

If KP plays starter minutes Celts in 7. If not or if he doesn’t come back Mavs in 6.

Cool story bro

[Goldstar88]

Tillman has experience guarding Luka and Kyrie:

https://www.tiktok.com/@legendz_nba/video/7322663844994764078

https://x.com/CelticsFiles/status/1764086799398302105

If Tillman is guarding either Luka or Kyrie… Boston, we have a problem. 

[Birdman]

Lot of these so called NBA experts are picking Dallas, so that’s good for us 😁

[Phantom255x]

It's funny, because a lot of the media seems to be picking Dallas but then if Boston wins, all we'll hear is how they had a mickey mouse run and that the C's were a superteam so it was unfair.

Kind of reminds me of the 2018 Pats tbh and their run which culminated in the 6th SB. Lot of doubts, hate, etc. along the way

[MattyIce]

If KP plays starter minutes Celts in 7. If not or if he doesn’t come back Mavs in 6.

ok boy