Key events
Other notes from the Game 1 boxscore:
– While all the pressure is on Jayson Tatum, his teammates led the way in the rout. Jaylen Brown had 22 points; Kristaps Porzingis, as already mentioned, had 20. Tatum chipped in 16 points. And 5 assists. And 11 rebounds. (But he had 6 turnovers, so the People Who Place Values On Athletes’ Heads were surely aghast.)
– Dallas’ marquee player, Luka Dončić, had 30. Kyrie Irving, however, didn’t hold up his end of the deal, scoring just 12 points on 6-for-19 shooting (0-for-5 on 3-pointers). Derrick Jones Jr. also had a rough night from the field, shooting 2-for-9.
– Celtics center Al Horford turned 38 last week. Years. Not points. If you think that seems old, bear in mind that I saw his father, Tito Horford, play in college.
– Boston’s Daniel Gafford had an effective true shooting percentage of 103.1%. Math is complicated.
Speaking of ESPN and filling time until the game starts, one of the most peculiar pieces of TV programming in the USA is the “NBA Layup Lines” feed. At the moment, no one is shooting. It’s just a bunch of lights and some random images of fans waving as they realize they’re on camera.
If you’d rather revisit pregame media extravaganzas of the past, check out the iconic Chicago Bulls 1990s intro to the Alan Parsons Project song Sirius:
The Bulls still use the same music, and they’ve upgraded the animations, but it loses something without Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, Ron Harper and some other guy … from North Carolina, apparently.
ESPN is chatting with Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics big man who had missed most of the playoffs with a calf injury but came back with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 21 minutes in the Celtics’ 107-89 Game 1 win.
Tipoff is in 41 minutes.
Preamble
Welcome to Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Or, as they like to call it in the sports punditocracy, another game in which Jayson Tatum must score 87 points on 80% shooting while getting 20 rebounds and 25 assists to lead the Celtics to a 187-84 win, or else his legacy is shot to pieces.
Seriously – we haven’t seen anyone put under this much pressure to win a championship since Charles Barkley roamed the NBA’s courts. Seems that he turned out OK, but we didn’t yet have the media machine that we have today.
Disclaimer alert: Yes, I went to Tatum’s school. Many, many years before him. Two other players who spent a combined two years at the same school – Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II – are playing for the Mavericks. And they’re playing quite well, which will be especially important tonight as Luka Dončić battles through a thoracic contusion, which will absolutely be the name of my next band. (My current band’s name is less medical.)
Thanks for joining me tonight. Please do email me your thoughts about this game, band names and the USA’s cricket victory over Pakistan.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how our panel of writers saw the finals unfolding (before the series began):
Celtics in six. The Mavericks have the star power but the Celtics are the better all-around team. Dallas’ defensive shift doesn’t match up as neatly with Boston’s offensive style as it did against the teams they knocked off in the West. Dončić’s sprained right knee looms large, too. Give him long enough, and Dončić can solve any defense. But is there any solution for the most athletic, smartest, switchable group in the league? And if Dončić is slowed any amount with an injury, the Celtics’ defense will close any potential openings. To push this to six or seven games, Dallas will have to make an unusual number of contested shots. Irving and Dončić can deliver, but they will need two other shooters, at least, to step up. Oliver Connolly
Mavericks in seven. Conventional wisdom says that the Celtics, who have been the best team in basketball all year long, should win the championship. But conventional wisdom has never come face to face with Dončić in clutch time. The Mavericks are firing on all cylinders, their role players are rising to the challenge, and having to deal with Irving on top of Dončić is a handful, to say the least. Claire de Lune
Celtics in four. Boston have been the best team in the league all season long. And while the Mavericks’ defense has reinvented itself since the deadline, they haven’t been in with an offensive monster like the Celtics. Tatum and Brown are right there with Dončić and Irving as an elite backcourt tandem. But Boston’s superior if not deeper supporting cast, who have been together longer, can light it up from anywhere and have no weak link on defense, will make the difference as Luka and co run out of pixie dust. Bryan Graham
Mavericks in seven. The Celtics are the better, more experienced team. But their nasty habit of playing with their food leaves the door open long enough for Dončić to dazzle and Irving to exact sweet revenge. Their Mavericks supporting cast, also a few shades greener than the C’s, continue to step up behind Washington and Gafford. It’s a fun series that ends in Boston tears, a few memes and, perhaps slightly further down the road, a roster reset around Tatum. Andrew Lawrence
