Scalabrine discusses expectations for Celtics vs. Mavs Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Dallas Mavericks will undoubtedly be the toughest test for the Boston Celtics as they look to win Banner 18 this year.
After breezing through the first three rounds of the playoffs against undermanned Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers, the Celtics will now face one of the NBA’s best offensive duos in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Of course, Boston has a superstar duo in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown that should make for a thrilling NBA Finals matchup.
Game 1 at TD Garden is scheduled for 8:30pm ET on Thursday, and 2008 NBA champion turned analyst Brian Scalabrine joined Chris Forsberg on the Celtics Talk podcast to share his expectations for the series.
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“I watched the game on March 1 and it was good to watch,” Scalabrine said. “I know Dallas is playing a lot better. If you look at how we’ve played in the playoffs, I’d say we haven’t played as good as we did back then. And by the way, the March 1 game against Dallas was one of our best games.”
“But I thought Jrue Holiday was great. Jaylen Brown played great against Luka (Doncic) in November. I’m optimistic. I’m not saying we can stop Luka Doncic or anything like that, but as long as (Kristaps) Porzingis is playing, I’m optimistic that we can ‘slow him down’ defensively and ‘take advantage of him.'”
Dallas’ size might put a bit of a strain on Boston, but Skull believes the C’s’ strong 3-point shooting will be the deciding factor.
“They really have a problem with big men who are good at shooting from range, and that’s what they do,” he added. “Their roster isn’t set up to stop that. They have to have Derek Lively, Daniel Gafford at the rim with them. When they’re at the rim, they’re great defensively. They pretty much do it the same way they did the last time they went to the Finals with Rob Williams, which is they all crowd the guy. They don’t foul. They pull their hands back. They’re forced to take shots at the rim with Rob Williams.”
“But their shooting range and ball movement should counter that. So I’m not saying we’re going to sweep them. … I think we’ll win the series, but I don’t think we’re going to sweep that team.”
Also featured in this episode:
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What did we learn from the Celtics vs Mavericks matchup on March 1?
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How are the Mavericks different now?
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Expectations for Kristaps Porzingis.
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Give Al Horford a ring!
