(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Dallas Mavericks showed more fight than they did in Game 1 but they still lost to the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.
Their 105-98 defeat means they are now down 0-2 before heading back to Texas later this week.
Writing for The Athletic, John Hollinger spoke about Dallas’ chances and how much they rely on the Celtics making mistakes.
“For these Mavs, against this opponent, it’s not clear how they can win four times without the Celtics’ help,” Hollinger wrote.
Jason Kidd tried playing a mental game by saying that Jaylen Brown was Boston’s best player and not Jayson Tatum.
For @johnhollinger the reason was simple. Jason Kidd needed the Celtics to beat themselves because the Mavericks can’t.
Game 2 reactions https://t.co/Ku2vfkytfx pic.twitter.com/knThUNY2rp
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 10, 2024
A few days ago, Dallas’ head coach Jason Kidd made some waves by stating that Jaylen Brown was Boston’s best player.
Some people felt this was a tactic to turn Brown against Jayson Tatum, the team’s usual brightest star.
If this really was Kidd’s attempt to get inside the team’s head and cause friction between players, it didn’t work and the Celtics still won on Sunday.
At this point, the Celtics are playing incredibly well, even if Tatum isn’t having MVP-worthy performances.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic is doing great things for his Mavericks but several other players on the roster aren’t stepping up.
This means that the Mavericks won’t be able to win a championship unless the Celtics implode, or at least mess up in some big ways.
They have shown no evidence of that happening.
A team like the Celtics is so dominant in so many ways that it’s very hard to find any weak links in their plans.
Kidd and his coaching staff have to outsmart Joe Mazzulla and the entire team has to outplay the Celtics.
Time is running out, but the series is now heading back to Dallas, which will give the Mavericks a chance to come out with more energy and cohesion on Wednesday night.
They need a definitive plan because if the Mavericks are simply counting on the Celtics messing up, they will be bitterly disappointed.
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