After seven months of NBA basketball, the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are set to meet on the league’s biggest stage. Led by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavs torched the Western Conference playoffs en route to the Finals. On the other side of the bracket, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics breezed through the wreckage of an Eastern Conference depleted by injuries to stars.
But the only thing that matters now is what happens when the Finals tip off on Thursday night. Ahead of Game 1, our staff gathered to make their picks and answer some of the biggest questions that will determine who takes home the Larry O’B. Michael Pina : This is Goodfellas -garlic-shaving close.
As brilliant, panic-inducing, and insoluble as Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are when the ball is in their hands, I’m going with the muscle, length, and two-way excellence of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. By going this route, I’m choosing to sacrifice offensive efficiency and crunchtime assurance for two large wings who won’t be poked at on defense, which can’t be said about Dallas’s dynamic duo. Danny Chau : All else being equal, I’d rather have Doncic, the best player in the series, who has dismantled every single defensive coverage levied against him, and Irving, who has been more malleable and accommodating with his on-court contributions than he’s been his entire career.
But all else isn’t equal. The Celtics, at full strength, have one of the best starting five.
