✍️ Pratyusha Srivastava

🗓️ June 6, 2024

With the NBA Finals just around the corner, the excitement and anticipation amongst the fans have gone through the roof. The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are competing for success in basketball’s top league. 

In these seven months of NBA, both of these teams have demonstrated remarkable skills and resilience. And if it wasn’t for their great depth and star power, they wouldn’t have reached this big stage– competing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. 

The thing about NBA championships is there has always been a superstar player on the roster of the champion, dating since 2004. In fact, the only team to ever win the NBA finals without having any star players was the Houston Rockets’ 1995 triumph, but that still included former MVP Hakeem Olajuwon. 

Coming to this year’s finalists: the Mavericks and Celtics both have at least one superstar. Luka Doncic in the Mavs, who charmed everyone in the semi-final game with his remarkable pairing with Kyrie Irving. While the Celtics have Jayson Tatum as the star player. 

With the stakes for both teams sky-high considering their championship droughts, 13 years for Dallas, and 16 years for Boston, it’s going to be an absolute thrill to see who will win the coveted NBA championship. 

Celtics’ Playoff Surge Against Mavs’ Dynamic Duo

The Celtics are coming off a historic season with 64 regular season wins, which hasn’t been seen since the Miami Heat led by LeBron James in 2012-13. Their dominance has continued in the playoffs as well, while they led the league in net rating with 4.4 points per 100 possessions. 

Meanwhile, the Mavs’ dynamic duo of Doncic and Irving defeated three of the top four seeds of the West. But Doncic isn’t the only powerful weapon of the Mavs as when he suffered the sprained right knee, it was Rudy Gobert who came through. Though Doncic’s production of 28.8 points and 8.8 assists per game is indeed worth the hype it is getting. 

Clash of Titans in Celtics-Mavs NBA Finals

With all the facts stated before, the bigger question is who will emerge as the favorite to win the championship. The Celtics are the betting favorite with their home-field advantage over the Mavs, but is this finally their year to end the drought since 2008?

Even though the Mavs have the dynamic force of Doncic, who is arguably considered the best player in the series, the Celtics remain a more versatile team. They have the best defender, whom Doncic has previously preferred, to guard the star Dallas player– Jrue Holiday. 

Also, if Kristaps Porziņģis returns, after recovering from his injury, for the start of the final series; Boston will have more 3-point threats completing an eight-player rotation. This will also create a challenge for Dallas to face the improved defense of the opposing team. 

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