Path to Glory: 5 Keys for the Mavericks to Upset the Celtics in NBA Finals

The Stars Must Shine

If Dallas has any chance of winning, their stars, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, will have to outplay Boston's duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Luka has looked like the best player in the world over the last few weeks and will have to maintain that high production level to force the Celtics' defense to adjust. Fortunately for the Mavs, they'll have had nearly a week of rest for Doncic to battle some nagging injuries and should come into this series fresher than he's been in some time. Kyrie will need to be a threat to score at any point during the game and not just in the later stages, as was customary earlier in the playoffs. The Mavericks duo is averaging 52.9 points in Dallas wins and recorded multiple games in the last series where they both had at least 30 points. They've got to be at that same level to pull it off.

The Long Range Battle

The three-point shot is the great equalizer, and Dallas will need their three-point sliders turned all the way up if they want to match the Celtics pace. Boston leads the playoffs in three-pointers made, and three-pointers attempted, taking over 47% of their total shots from outside the arc. Dallas is going to need to rely on P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones Jr. to hit the open corner threes that will be created for them, as well as Maxi Kleber, who returned to the lineup in Game 7 against the Timberwolves and is shooting 50% from deep in the playoffs. If Boston gets going from long range, it'll be almost impossible for the Mavericks to beat the Celtics. While the Eastern Conference Champions are formidable from a distance, they're equally devastating in the paint.

The Twin Towers

Dallas has two high-flying athletic big men, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, and both must be a considerable presence in the series for the Mavs to pull off the win. The Celtics are equally as deadly from inside the arc as they are from the outside, shooting a blistering 63.2% in the paint, first in the playoffs. Gafford and Lively must patrol the paint, avoid picking up silly fouls, and create scoring chances for their team with their offensive rebounding and rolling to the rim for easy dunks. Gafford is the better interior defender, but Lively is a better offensive player with his ability to facilitate out of the roll and make quick, decisive decisions to help the Mavericks offense run smoothly. It will be on head coach Jason Kidd to make sure he can balance the two and play them each in the right moments. Lively is expected to be good to go for Game 1 after missing Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals with a neck strain. He returned for Game 7, suffering another blow to the head, but stayed in the game.

Mix up the Defensive Gameplan

Dallas' coaching staff will have a tough choice on the defensive end of the floor: either let Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown play one-on-one or send the help over to the stars and let Boston's bevy of role players have open looks. The Celtics have three players shooting at least 40% from three in the playoffs: Payton Pritchard, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White, with Jrue Holiday also shooting 39.7%. Brown and Tatum are two of the best scorers in the league, and guarding them with single coverage will lead to its own challenges. Jason Kidd must have a variety of defensive coverages to combat the Boston offense, balancing when to go for an organized play call versus letting Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving make all the decisions. The chess match on the sidelines between Kidd and Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla will be one to observe.

Get to the Line Without Complaining

The free throw battle will be interesting to watch, with both teams great at getting to the line. The Mavericks are fifth in the playoffs in free throws attempted (23.8), while the Celtics rank first in free throw differential. Dallas must ensure they're aggressive in getting to the free throw line and not settle for too many jump shots, especially Luka Doncic, who's eighth in free throws attempted during the postseason. Another big key will be Luka maintaining his composure if calls don't go his way. Doncic tends to spend a lot of time barking at officials when he feels he didn't get a call and won't be able to do that frequently, or he risks giving a deadly Boston offense a numbers advantage. The Mavericks will also need to make sure they hit their free throws, as a team they're shooting 72.8% from the line, which is the worst among all teams that made the playoffs, they can't leave points on the board if they want to knock out the Celtics.

The Stars Must Shine

If Dallas has any chance of winning, their stars, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, will have to outplay Boston's duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Luka has looked like the best player in the world over the last few weeks and will have to maintain that high production level to force the Celtics' defense to adjust. Fortunately for the Mavs, they'll have had nearly a week of rest for Doncic to battle some nagging injuries and should come into this series fresher than he's been in some time. Kyrie will need to be a threat to score at any point during the game and not just in the later stages, as was customary earlier in the playoffs. The Mavericks duo is averaging 52.9 points in Dallas wins and recorded multiple games in the last series where they both had at least 30 points. They've got to be at that same level to pull it off.