Carl Coulanges, The Sports Hit List Executive Producer
With more than a week rest for both teams, The 2024 NBA Finals finally tipped off last night in Boston. Game 1 set the tone for the series and gave us a glimpse of what to expect moving forward.
The Celtics
Boston was in cruise control of the game the minute Forward Kristaps Porziņģis checked into the game off the bench. Porziņģis returned after missing 10 games and didn’t miss a beat scoring 20 points, 6 rebounds, and adding 3 blocks on 61.5% shooting from the field. He seemed very poised and ready for his first finals game. Porziņģis became the 9th player since 1976-77 to score 18+ points in the first half of their NBA Finals debut.
“The adrenaline was pumping through my veins and that definitely helped. I did everything I could to prepare mentally for this moment, coming back and it paid off, and we got the job done tonight — had a good game and happy about the result,” said Porziņģis after the game. Because of his success, Tatum had a light night with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The Celtics by committee shared the ball with 23 assists and only 12 turnovers. “I had way too many turnovers,” said Tatum who had 6. Despite the turnovers, Bostons defense was able to neutralize the Mavs aside from Luka. The Celtics shot 38% from beyond the arc (16-42).
The Mavericks
Guard Luka Doncic scored 30 points and added 10 rebounds. Luka had 1 assist in his finals debut and the rest of his team was unable to get a shot. Dallas cut the 29 point deficit to just 8 in the 3rd qtr. 7of 27 (25.9%) from 3 with Kyrie Irving only scoring 12 points. The lack of ball movement caused frustration for the Mavs. Irving posted on X after the game and said ” Tribe, Keep GOD 1st and stay together, this mission is bigger than us.”
Dallas is known for the pick and roll along with easy alley hoops which was nonexistent in Game 1. Who does it fall on to get the offense going? After every lost in the postseason, everyone wants to know what “adjustments” will the losing team make to bounce back? In this situation, Head Coach Jason Kidd and his staff must figure out a way to get “the others” going while attempting to get stops.
Game 2 this Sunday at 8 pm from T.D. Garden in Boston
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