Washburn and Blakely Disagree on Who Has Advantage in Celtics-Mavs Finals

The Celtics vs. Mavericks NBA Finals matchup is almost here and there are several key matchups to watch out for. Between Tatum vs. Luka, Kyrie vs. Jaylen Brown, there will be plenty to debate throughout this series.

Jason Kidd and Joe Mazzulla will become the first Black head coaches to go against each other in the Finals since 1975. The strategies will be endless, players like Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, PJ Washington, and Dereck Lively II will be X-factors, but only one will come away with a banner.

The biggest question is, who has the advantage in the Celtics-Mavs NBA Finals matchup?

“The Celtics have basically been doing what the Celtics have been doing all season. The one difference as Gary mentioned earlier, was that the Celtics finally had an opportunity to see what they can do down the stretch in a close game where they have to execute in the closing minutes,” said A. Sherrod Blakely on the latest episode of The Big 3 NBA Podcast. 

The Celtics weaknesses include a version of Kristaps Porzingis who is coming off of a calf injury, and a big man in Luke Kornet coming off the bench who could be unsure of what his role is or what his minutes could be like.

“You make Luka defend, you make Kyrie defend. You get them in a lot of actions, have them pick up fouls and get them a little fatigued on the defensive side of the ball,” said Gary Washburn regarding what the Celtics need to do to avoid Luke Doncic and Kyrie Irving catching fire in this series.

A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn, and Kwani Lunis give your their Celtics-Mavericks preview and analyze strategies, strengths, and weaknesses of both teams heading into Game 1.

 

Timeline:

0:00 – Intro
1:46 – Celtics’ ideal matchup for the NBA Finals
5:01 – Comparing the preparation advantages of Boston and Dallas
7:51 – Celtics journey preparation advantages
9:31 – Luka Doncic vs. Jayson Tatum strengths
13:13 – Strategy for Dallas against Boston
15:47 – Defending Tatum and Brown is crucial
17:30 – Exploit weaknesses in each other’s rosters
21:06 – Kyrie’s standard of Excellence and defensive progress
23:40 – Coaches Jason Kidd vs. Joe Mazzulla historic matchup
26:00 – Evaluating the coaching battle between Kidd and Mazzulla
28:30 – Comparing coaching impact: Mazzulla vs. Kidd
30:58 – Assessing Porzingis’ potential impact in NBA Finals
32:30 – Concerns and strategies around Porzingis’ return
35:08 – Previewing the upcoming NBA Finals and expectations

 

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