Poll: Mavericks vs. Celtics Series Predictions

[trickybilly]

Broussard and Nick both taking the Mavs.

[Phantom255x]

Broussard and Nick both taking the Mavs.

Great news!

[celticinorlando]

Per Joe:

Big Kristaps Porzingis update from practice today:

“He did everything the team did.”

Sounds like they are ramping up:

Joe Mazzulla says Kristaps Porzingis was a full participant in today's Celtics practice. However, he added the caveat that today's practice was "moderate" and that tomorrow's session will be much more intense.

[Moranis]

I’m genuinely terrified of Luka in this series. Should be the Celtics time but I can’t guarantee or predict that with that cold blooded killer on the other side

Don't see why Luka would terrify anyone.  What has he done to be considered a cold blooded killer?  Just thinking about Luka and Kyrie having to play defense against this Celts team ought to put a big grin on any Celtics fan.

I can’t take you serious with a comment like this.
Don’t see why Luka would terrify anyone? Huh?
There defense has been pretty good in the second half of the season too btw. We’ll see.

You didn't say anything to justify your terror but that's okay because terror is often irrational.  Luka isn't Michael, LeBron or even Kobe.  He certainly isn't Bird. Now maybe he does step up to carry Mavs to win this series but to be honest I'd be more concerned about Kyrie.   

I have Luka up in the class of Bird, Magic, Oscar and LeBron.

Luka is incredible. One of the most skilled players of All-Time. A 30-10-10 threat on a nightly basis. Clutch. Performs well in the playoffs.

The only thing that concerns me is that Minnesota was supposedly one of the top defensive teams in the league and Dallas handled them very effectively. Talent wins in this league and Luka is probably the best player in this series. Couple that with Cleveland Championship Winning Kyrie and that's a problem.

Bird back in his day would get his against any defense. They have 2 guys who can do that.  I don't see how we win this without a big contribution from Porzingis - which I think we'll get.

The Timberwolves roster construction was not a good defensive matchup against Dallas. Their top defenders were their interior guys and Gobert and Towns got totally abused defensively by Dallas' guards/wings. The Celtics on the other hand are built for this. They have 6 guys who are all versatile top level 2 way players and their defensive strength is at the guard and wing positions. We know the Celtics can defend at a top level. On the other side, what defenders does Dallas have? They don't stand a chance of guarding Boston. They can only hope the Celtics go cold for enough games to steal a few of them.

IConley is an excellent defender and Irving torched him. That is the concern. Irving is probably too fast for White.  Brown and Jrue as good as anyone on Luka, but he is really good so will probably still do well. 

[SparzWizard]

Broussard and Nick both taking the Mavs.

Great news!

Looks like Celtics going to be underdogs heading into Finals again!

[hpantazo]

I’m genuinely terrified of Luka in this series. Should be the Celtics time but I can’t guarantee or predict that with that cold blooded killer on the other side

Don't see why Luka would terrify anyone.  What has he done to be considered a cold blooded killer?  Just thinking about Luka and Kyrie having to play defense against this Celts team ought to put a big grin on any Celtics fan.

I can’t take you serious with a comment like this.
Don’t see why Luka would terrify anyone? Huh?
There defense has been pretty good in the second half of the season too btw. We’ll see.

You didn't say anything to justify your terror but that's okay because terror is often irrational.  Luka isn't Michael, LeBron or even Kobe.  He certainly isn't Bird. Now maybe he does step up to carry Mavs to win this series but to be honest I'd be more concerned about Kyrie.   

I have Luka up in the class of Bird, Magic, Oscar and LeBron.

Luka is incredible. One of the most skilled players of All-Time. A 30-10-10 threat on a nightly basis. Clutch. Performs well in the playoffs.

The only thing that concerns me is that Minnesota was supposedly one of the top defensive teams in the league and Dallas handled them very effectively. Talent wins in this league and Luka is probably the best player in this series. Couple that with Cleveland Championship Winning Kyrie and that's a problem.

Bird back in his day would get his against any defense. They have 2 guys who can do that.  I don't see how we win this without a big contribution from Porzingis - which I think we'll get.

The Timberwolves roster construction was not a good defensive matchup against Dallas. Their top defenders were their interior guys and Gobert and Towns got totally abused defensively by Dallas' guards/wings. The Celtics on the other hand are built for this. They have 6 guys who are all versatile top level 2 way players and their defensive strength is at the guard and wing positions. We know the Celtics can defend at a top level. On the other side, what defenders does Dallas have? They don't stand a chance of guarding Boston. They can only hope the Celtics go cold for enough games to steal a few of them.

IConley is an excellent defender and Irving torched him. That is the concern. Irving is probably too fast for White.  Brown and Jrue as good as anyone on Luka, but he is really good so will probably still do well.

Mike Conley is 36 years old and the rest of the Wolves backcourt and wings were mediocre to poor defenders. The Celtics backcourt of Holliday is the best defensive backcourt in the league and probably the best in the past 5+years. On the wings Brown and Tatum are also excellent defenders, and Porzingis and Horford are no slouches either. The Mavs haven't faced anything near this level of defense yet in the playoffs. Importantly, on the flip side, Dallas has no good defenders to match any of our top 6 guys. They are going to get cooked.

[Birdman]

Brown, Holiday & White are alot better on defense than the Timberwolves backcourt.

[Phantom255x]

I know Hauser's been a bust this postseason, but if he can figure out his shot that'd be big because in the minutes he plays, I imagine he'll have a lot of open chances from 3. In theory he should be able to contribute this series, even if it's one or two good shooting nights that help.

[makaveli]

i will have one conditional to set my prediction:

condition:

we switch everything, Luka torches Zinger and Horfrod

 if YES than score prediction: series of 7 games, coin flip for the winner

if NO than it's 4-1, banner 18!

[Larry for 3]

Brown, Holiday & White are alot better on defense than the Timberwolves backcourt.

So true. People keep forgetting this. Kyrie will be shut down and Dallas doesn’t have enough scoring to match. I’ll take D white and holiday shutting down kyrie all day. Celtics are a better version of OKC and Dallas barely survived that.

[Celtics2021]

I know Hauser's been a bust this postseason, but if he can figure out his shot that'd be big because in the minutes he plays, I imagine he'll have a lot of open chances from 3. In theory he should be able to contribute this series, even if it's one or two good shooting nights that help.

If Porzingis can go 30 minutes a night, I might just bench Hauser altogether and go with a 7-man rotation.  There are two days off between every game except 3&4, and we’ve had 9 days off before game 1.  It’s the finals — win it with your best players.

[hpantazo]

I know Hauser's been a bust this postseason, but if he can figure out his shot that'd be big because in the minutes he plays, I imagine he'll have a lot of open chances from 3. In theory he should be able to contribute this series, even if it's one or two good shooting nights that help.

If Porzingis can go 30 minutes a night, I might just bench Hauser altogether and go with a 7-man rotation.  There are two days off between every game except 3&4, and we’ve had 9 days off before game 1.  It’s the finals — win it with your best players.

Hauser is due to break out of his shooting slump, and Dallas will be much easier on him than the fast paced Pacers games.

[Redz]

I’d like to hear the Garden crowd give JB MVP chants when he gets to the line.  I’d also like JB to not miss both free throws.  A guy can wish.

[SparzWizard]

Brown, Holiday & White are alot better on defense than the Timberwolves backcourt.

So true. People keep forgetting this. Kyrie will be shut down and Dallas doesn’t have enough scoring to match. I’ll take D white and holiday shutting down kyrie all day. Celtics are a better version of OKC and Dallas barely survived that.

Gotta watch out for one of their smaller players like PJ Washington...could be having a Jordan-esque series against us

[Who]

I know Hauser's been a bust this postseason, but if he can figure out his shot that'd be big because in the minutes he plays, I imagine he'll have a lot of open chances from 3. In theory he should be able to contribute this series, even if it's one or two good shooting nights that help.

If Porzingis can go 30 minutes a night, I might just bench Hauser altogether and go with a 7-man rotation.  There are two days off between every game except 3&4, and we’ve had 9 days off before game 1.  It’s the finals — win it with your best players.

It might be hard to play Pritchard when Luka is on the floor. Luka likes to matchup hunt smaller players. Like Jimmy Butler did to Pritchard in the past. Or Luka did to Pat Beverley who was much better at defending bigger wings than Pritchard is.