(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Heading into the NBA Finals after wiping the floor with the competition in the Conference Finals, the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics were thought to be a potentially classic matchup between a lockdown defense and a potent offense.
Although both teams can get after it defensively and offensively, the Mavericks are arguably the better team when it comes to scoring with arguably the best scoring backcourt in league history led by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but the Celtics have Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis offensively.
Ironically enough, when it comes down to the two faces of their respective franchises in this series, according to these Finals stats from StatMuse, Doncic continues to play at a high level while Tatum struggles offensively, especially in the shooting department.
First options in the Finals:
17.0 PPG 31.0 PPG
10.0 RPG 10.5 RPG
8.5 APG 6.0 APG
31/29/75% 51/38/46% pic.twitter.com/FvwuF4Lwr7
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 11, 2024
Unfortunately for Doncic, the Mavericks are in an 0-2 hole heading into Game 3 on Wednesday night on their home floor of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, meaning his teammates need to step up to help them get back into this series.
Tatum, however, seems to have the more well-rounded roster, with the Celtics getting solid performances from Brown, Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday.
The Celtics, however, could be without Porzingis for Game 3 as he’s dealing with a new injury that has changed his status to questionable and could impact the series moving forward if he misses more time.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out from here and whether Dallas is capable of extending the series with at least one win on its home floor.
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