2023-24 NBA Finals (Game One)

(ONE) Mavs 89-107 Celtics

Well, if Porzingis is awesome like this for three more games, then this series will be over in 4. The Celtics just needed Porzingis to not suck, to not be a zero out there, and he was way more than that, dominating the 1st half at both ends. If Porzingis is terrible then the Mavs might have a chance to pull a surprise, but if Porzingis is a big contributor, then the Mavs have nothing to stop that, no chance to keep up. I hate to overreact to the first game, but it was pretty clear right away that the Mavs will have to be perfect on offense to even have a chance. By perfect I mean Luka needs a very efficient 35 every night, Kyrie needs an efficient 25 every night and the rest need an efficient 30 to hang. That's a tough ask, man, this Celtics defense is pretty damn good and, again, if Porzingis is high level, the Mavs have no answer. 

Here's the real realization of Game One: holy shit, the Celtics are really fuckin' good and we all kinda knew that, but now that we're in the Championship and it is plainly obvious that this squad is just about perfect. Even without Porzingis they should still beat the Mavs, but with a healthy Porzingis, they have way too much for the Mavs to hang with. I'm even really impressed with the minutes the Celtics have been getting out of Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser, I figured they would go away for the Final, but, no, I think I expect to see them playing pretty good minutes. 

The Celtics had great success in Game One on shutting down the dunker-spot contribution of the Mavs offense. If the Celtics continue to take that away, I'd suggest gang tackling on Kyrie and just letting Luka do whatever he wants. If Luka goes for 50 every night but the Celtics shut down everything else....this'll be over in 4. 

The really fascinating wrinkle that could appear: what if the Celtics stomp the Mavs in 4 games even with Luka being amazing every night....but Tatum doesn't do anything? What if Porzingis is the big hero or Jaylen Brown goes off a coupla nights in a row or we all acknowledge that the real winner is the Celtics stifling team defense (led by Derrick White and Jrue Holiday) or the superior acumen of the much maligned Coach Mazzulo or we really begin to appreciate the terrific job that GM Brad Stevens has done putting this squad together....what does that do for the Tatum-is-the-man narrative? Is it just a joke for them to laugh about next season or is it a cloud that hangs over a team that's kinda built to dominate for the next few years? (Yup, this series is already so over that I'm peeking ahead to what could happen next year)