After another fascinating NBA Season, it’s finally that time of the year: the NBA Finals! The one-seeded Boston Celtics and five-seeded Dallas Mavericks are ready to battle for the Larry O Brien Trophy and fight for the right to be called NBA Champions. The NBA will have a new NBA Champion for the sixth consecutive year. The last time there was a repeat champion was the 2017-18 season when the God-squad Superteam, Golden State Warriors, led by Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, won the NBA Championship that year. That’s only one of the many exciting storylines surrounding this NBA Finals matchup. There are many things at stake in this year’s Finals. Mavs guard Kyrie Irving and Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will be fired up as they will face their former teams while competing for an NBA Title. Let’s not waste more time and get into the preview and my predictions on this year’s NBA Finals!

The Boston Celtics have consistently been one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference for a while. They have made it to at least the Eastern Conference Finals in six of the last eight seasons, and this will be their second trip to the NBA Finals in the past three seasons. However, they have yet to break the threshold and win a championship in these years. After coming up short in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, they acquired stars Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in the offseason. This season, the Celtics came back better than ever. This led to the formation of a dominant starting five consisting of players who can play at or near an All-Star level on any given night without giving up much depth. Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have two players who can be the best players at any time and go off at any time. Adding great supporting players like Derrick White, Al Horford, and Payton Pritchard provide solid minutes and have stepped up in critical moments when their team needed them the most. The Celtics have a roster full of depth and were the clear-cut best team in the league the entire season by a significant margin. On the court, the Celtics proved to be a complete team on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, with little to no weaknesses. They had the best-ranked offense and the second-best-ranked defense amongst all 30 teams. The Celtics had the highest offensive rating amongst any team in NBA history this year, a remarkable feat despite the context of teams scoring more points than ever across the league. Delving deeper, the Celtics excelled in their half-court offense, where they were the best and most efficient this season across all teams.  They won 7 more games than the second-best team in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were a whopping 14 games ahead of the New York Knicks, who were second in the Eastern Conference.

Another thing that contributed to the Celtics being so good this year is their exceptional three-point shooting. They led the league in three-point attempts per game and achieved the second-best three-point shooting percentage, barely losing out to the Thunder. However, the Celtics shot and made more threes than any other team in the league. The Celtics were the best shooting team overall, as they hit a higher volume of threes. Key players like Jaylen Brown (35%), Jason Tatum (38%), Derek White (40%), Al Horford (42%), and Drew Holiday (43%) contributed significantly from the three-point line. Kristaps Porzingis, a 38% three-point shooter, adds depth upon returning from injury. Getting Porzingis back will be huge for the Celtics, as he was a big reason for their success this season, and it will make them even more dangerous than they actually are right now.  Payton Pritchard (39%) and Sam Hauser (42%) bolster their shooting prowess off the bench. Their drive-and-kick game is effective due to their stars’ ability to finish at the rim, making it difficult for defenses to collapse without risking open threes. However, their reliance on three-point shooting could be a vulnerability in a seven-game series if they have a poor shooting night. Their strategy of finishing at the rim and/or kicking out to the open shooter makes it hard for opposing defenses to guard them.

In summary, the Celtics this season showed nothing but pure dominance. The Celtics were also dominant in the playoffs thus far, and they went 12-2 en route to the Finals. However, one thing to note is that the Celtics might have had an easy path to the finals and have yet to be battle-tested as much as they faced weak competition through the playoffs. First, they faced the Miami Heat without their star player, Jimmy Butler, who always turns into one of the best players in the league come playoff time. Then, they played against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played a couple of games without their best player, Donovan Mitchell. The same happened when they faced off against the Indiana Pacers, whose star Player, Tyrese Haliburton, suffered a hamstring injury. The Celtics also didn’t have to face off against the Milwaukee Bucks or New York Knicks, who were the teams that would’ve given them the most challenging competition in the East, as those teams had injuries to their star players. Regardless of what happened, injuries are a part of the game and happen every single year. The Celtics were without a key player in Kristaps Porzingis, who suffered a calf injury in the first round. He is a player that makes the Celtics even more lethal than they already are. It is confirmed that Porzingis will return for game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Dallas Mavericks have been slowly trending upward over the past few seasons. Throughout his impressive career thus far, Luka Doncic has established himself as one of the best players in today’s game and has proved to be an all-time great talent. They made an unlikely run to the Western Conference Finals in 2022, where they lost to the eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors. After that, they lost their second-best player, Jalen Brunson, to the New York Knicks, where he transformed himself into a star and became an All-NBA Caliber player. At last year’s trade deadline, they went all-in trading for Kyrie Irving, and instantly, like others, I thought his pairing with Luka would not work. The apparent reason for this was that Kyrie and Luka were two ball-dominant players who needed the ball in their hands to do anything productive. The Mavericks went from a potential title contender to missing the playoffs and even the play-in entirely. They bounced back this year, and the Luka-Kyrie backcourt has proved to be an unstoppable duo, especially in the playoffs. If you had told me the Mavs would be in the Finals a year later, I would have laughed at you like a madman. The Mavericks lost key rotational pieces in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorion Finney-Smith. However, in this year’s trade deadline, the Mavericks added more depth by acquiring PJ Washington from the Hornets and Daniel Gafford from the Wizards from the Wizards. This balanced their starting lineup and provided a significant boost to their defense. After this year’s trade deadline, the Mavs went from the 18th-ranked to the 8th-best defense in the league. They also got Derrick Jones Jr, who is very athletic and always guards the opposing team’s best player. Jones Jr has provided solid minutes for the Mavericks in these playoffs by slowing down the opposing team’s best player and causing havoc on the defensive end. We also know that Luka and Kyrie can take over games at any moment, and when they’re on fire, they are tough to stop. There is no doubt that the Mavericks have the best player in the series, Luka Doncic. This is due to his ability to control the tempo, easily get to his spots, and make difficult shots that can be demoralizing for opposing defense. He’s one of the best passers, making him even more difficult to stop. Luka and the Mavericks took down the NBA’s number-one-ranked defense in the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals to reach this point. Due to that, we should expect Luka to perform at the same level as the Celtics, the NBA’s number two-ranked defense.  The Celtics and the Mavs are excellent three-point shooting teams, as they are the number one and two teams that shoot the most threes per game. This will be crucial in determining which team comes out on top in this series. The team that shoots better from the three and limits the other team’s impact on shooting threes will win the series.

We all know about Kyrie Irving’s two-year tenure in Boston, which was not memorable for him. After winning a Championship in 2016 and making three straight Finals appearances with Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie requested to be traded from Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017. He was traded to the Celtics, where they had immense success in the 2017-18 regular season. However, before the playoffs started, Irving got injured and missed the entire postseason. Just as everyone counted the Celtics out, a young Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led them to the verge of the NBA Finals, but they ended up losing to Lebron James in the Eastern Conference Finals (think what I did there!). When he came back next season, everyone thought the Celtics would be clear-cut favorites, but they lost in the second round instead. From there, Kyrie left for the Brooklyn Nets in Free Agency; the rest is history. Kyrie Irving will definitely be playing with a chip on his shoulder. He will be trying to make a statement against his former team. 

Then we have the Kristaps Porzingis and the Dallas Mavericks fiasco. Luka and Porzingis were not on the best terms when they were teammates in Dallas and are looking for sweet revenge against one another. The Mavs traded for Porzingis in 2019 and signed him to a five-year max contract. This was followed by an underwhelming 3 seasons plagued with injury-filled seasons. During those seasons, the Mavs also lost to the Clippers in two consecutive years. Porzingis did not perform well in those playoff series’ and got involved in many problems outside of basketball. Reports have shown that Luka and Porzingis often got into arguments, were unhappy, and did not get along. This led to Porzingis eventually being traded to Washington at the 2022 Trade deadline. Porzingis signed with Boston a year later and has definitely revitalized his career this past season. He averaged 20 points, 7.2 rebounds, and shot a career-best 52%. Getting Porzingis, an all-star caliber center, back will be huge for the Celtics as he can stretch the floor and provide effective minutes on the defensive end as well. He missed nearly all of the playoffs with an injury he suffered in the first round, and adding him will make the Celtics even more dangerous than they already are. The Celtics have the home-court advantage where they have gone 37-4 in the regular reason and have been dominant in the playoffs as well. At this point, it’s clear that Luka and Porzingis are looking for revenge against one another, and this will motivate them to perform at their best. This means that when Porzingis steps foot on the Finals court, this will be only his fourth playoff series, which will be on the biggest stage in all of basketball. This element goes beyond statistics and analytics. This storyline makes this matchup between the Celtics and Mavericks even more juicy!

I’m looking forward to watching this NBA Finals matchup, and I can’t wait for the Finals to start! The Boston Celtics have been looking for Banner #18 for sixteen years after winning it last with the big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Kyrie Irving was supposed to be the player who would lead them to the promised land. He promised that he would deliver the Boston Celtics their 18th championship. Then we all know the Kyrie Irving fiasco and his breakup with the Celtics nearly five years ago. This series has so many juicy storylines and revenge stories on both sides. Due to this, both the Celtics and the Mavericks will have an extra chip on their shoulder. Like I said before, Kyrie’s time in Boston was very rough. In 2018, the young Celtics, led by Rookie Jayson Tatum and Sophomore Jaylen Brown, almost led the Celtics to the NBA Finals, falling one game short. The Celtics didn’t have Kyrie Irving during that playoff run as he was out with a knee injury at the end of that season and couldn’t return on time. After Kyrie returned the following year, the Celtics were supposed to be clear-cut favorites to win the title after the Rockets and the Warriors. Still, instead, they got bounced in the second round. The person who got the blame? It was none other than Kyrie Irving who was accused of ruining the chemistry of the team. Kyrie was also not committed to Boston throughout the following year, and he eventually left the team for the Brooklyn Nets, with the rest being NBA history. This means that players on both the Celtics and Mavericks will come in with extra motivation and play with a chip on their shoulder. If the NBA is scripted (LOL!), you can’t script a more compelling Finals than this!

Finally, it’s time for my prediction, and I will come straight to the point. The Boston Celtics matchup very well against the Dallas Mavericks, and the Celtics will win Banner 18.  The Celtics have too many ways to beat you as they have many offensive and defensive weapons options in Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Horford, White, Porzingis, and more. They are just too deep, too good, and have the most talent from top to bottom. For example, Jrue Holiday is probably the Celtics’ 5th option, and he would’ve easily been the 3rd option on the Mavs after Luka and Kyrie. There will be a game or two where Luka and/or Kyrie will go crazy, leading the Mavs to victory. However, the Celtics have been the clear-cut best team in the league all season, and there hasn’t been any team close to them. Even though the Celtics had to play injured teams on their route to the finals, they dominated them in a way they were supposed to and didn’t make games close. The Celtics can beat you in many ways and are way more experienced, as most of their players have already been to at least one NBA Finals. The Mavericks have no one other than Kyrie Irving, who has made the finals at least once in their career. At 6’8, 210 pounds, with a 6’11 wingspan, Jayson Tatum is the ideal build with the rare strength and size combo you would need to guard Luka. Also, who will Luka actually guard on the Celtics? He is somewhat slow and not known for his defense. The Celtics are much more versatile defensively and can easily smother and save down the Mavericks offense. The Celtics have three other elite defensive guards to throw at Kyrie, including Jaylen Brown, who has been very underrated these entire playoffs, averaging 25 points and 6 rebounds while also shooting 54% from the field and 37% from the three. Brown is very underrated and has been sneakily good all year long. I believe the Mavericks will make it a close series, and even though I am afraid to bet against Luka, the Celtics depth will eventually prevail over the Mavericks, and the Boston Celtics will finally get the elusive banner # 18.

(Final Prediction: Boston Celtics in 7)

Also, as a Suns fan, I am vehemently against either the Celtics or Mavericks winning the championship, so I’m just hoping that we get close, entertaining, and pure basketball games going down to the wire. This should be a fun series between two exciting teams! Let the games begin!