What Luka Doncic & Mavericks MUST CHANGE to beat Celtics | NBA Finals | Hoops Tonight

[@manueltony3]

I think it's insane that no ESPN analyst or pod caster or former players can figure out how the Mavs can beat the Celtics but many people still think the Mavs will end up winning but they can't figure out how they are just hoping and praying because they hate the Celtics

[@GARR255]

How about Kyrie plays better. Pretty simple…

[@addster124]

​@@GARR255kyrie shooting better won't help their role players hit above the break 3s or how he and luka can't contain the basketball on the other end

[@RightStickRob]

@@GARR255 why would you expect Kyrie to play better? The Celtics have defended him better than any team in the league over the last three seasons. You guys keep saying this and just completely disregarding the Celtics defense and the fact that they are causing him to play this poorly

[@skylertaylor7283]

It's so embarrassing, this is why I hate Luka

[@RightStickRob]

@@skylertaylor7283 i’m not even a Luka fan, but blaming Luka for this is crazy. He’s literally the only person on their team playing well. This sounds like you’re sipping Haterade man. The problem they have is that their role players are shooting absolutely abysmal.

[@joshladd5073]

First time watching this guy. Knows his ball for sure

[@CamMacCamMac]

Bro got the criterion collection on the shelf. So hype

[@jameyregier8054]

Great work gents!

[@taylor7264]

Brad paid the price for our guys but he found them undervalued too. I mean he got two firsts in the porzingus deal. Dwhite for a pick n a swap. Al for salary relief and a bad first etc.. he knows the game

[@ericmmelin]

Yeah. Absurd value. Gotta hope the second apron of the new cap has enough space for 3 max contracts though. They’ve been able to manage KP well enough in this new role to at least keep him involved in over 50 games (albeit with lots of days off).

[@drewn5271]

yeah i still hope timelord and smart eventually come back like al horford... i feel bad for them, they probably wish they were in boston

[@taylor7264]

@@drewn5271 Yee if we win they deserve a ring too imo. Celtics 4L

[@taylor7264]

@@ericmmelin the max is 50m + now so only 2 max guys but yee we’re getting expensive. They should be able to stay below the 2nd apron next yr w jrue taking a pay cut next yr. Yr after both jay’s contracts kick in so they’ll end up over the 2nd apron. 3 yrs out KP expires and the cap should be high enough to retool around jays n white n jrue. In Brad we trust ! I think they end up trying to resign KP if his body holds up if not they probably try to replace him w a guy like bam in FA. I’d bet they trade a 36 yr old jrue for some good cost controlled young guys too. Jrue could be a perfect guy to put a fringe team into contender status or for a team that needs culture and some cap relief

[@undiscoveredstars1002]

Tatum caused more luka turnovers than luka made shots on him in game 2. 4 turnovers in 2.5 quarters and luka stopped going at him. Wanting Tatum on luka is wild.

[@SDesWriter]

Luka scored over Tatum 3 times in the first 5 minutes of the game.

[@zakariahanaffi9641]

@@SDesWriterhe went 1-6 in the 4th

[@SDesWriter]

@@zakariahanaffi9641 He shot 57% for the game. It's unbelievable you'd tongue bath a guy shooting 6 for 26 and then trying to cherry pick stats to slam a guy who scored 32 on 21 shots (along with 11 rebounds and 11 assists plus 4 steals). You guys are shameless.

[@jennifercharlesbuckingham9533]

I’m a mavs fan and love my team but Boston is a better overall team and deeper than the mavs it’s an uphill battle from the start. But I’m naïve and still believe lol

[@davidverlaney7764]

Hopeful

[@jennifercharlesbuckingham9533]

@@davidverlaney7764 trying to be

[@greenmonk941991]

Luka is good defensively that he sleeps on defense . You ever notice his injuries show when misses shots are needs to play defense

[@AlmightyJagg]

Man inject this nerdy X’s and O’s stuff into my veins. Jason, you’re amazing man keep up the great work. It’s fascinating seeing the chess of hoops.

[@elsporko321]

If the Mavs play THJ they've already given up

[@brandonsams2772]

Jason, love the show. You teach me a lot about the game and i appreciate it. Maybe you can squeeze this question into an upcoming mailbag? I’m wondering about the logic of best of 7 playoff series as opposed to best of 5 or best of 9. Is best of 7 really the best way to test who the best team is? Is best of 7 the best way to maximize league profit and minimize wear and tear on players’ bodies ? why not best of 5? i’m old enough to remember the first round of the playoffs being best of 5. so i’m curious about your take on why best of 7 is the most accurate set up to determine the best team. thanks !

[@isaacmboup1881]

The problem with asking Luka to do more defensively is that he in along rung will wear himself out offensively.

[@mr.knowbuddy2149]

The finals comes down to not going away from your identity and not shying away from the moment, you gotta have dogs not kats

[@xJamesAhnx]

mailbag: i personally find the 2015 finals game 2 and 3 wins for lebron to be his most impressive wins, because the odds were so stacked against him. he didn't have kyrie and kevin love. he had to utilize players like delly and mozgov. the 2015 warriors were really deep and very threatening, even though steph, klay, and draymond haven't become their optimal selves yet. it was a stacked rock fight that lebron thugged out to win in the end. what do you think?

[@morskakumara1003]

32:28 Looks like that's gonna be the case afterall.

[@Mist_R]

They did target JT as an on ball defender on Luka in game 2. JT defended well. So nope.

[@SDesWriter]

Luka scored 16 in the first quarter on him and 32/11/11 for the game (at 57% shooting). How well do you think he defended? You realize if Tatum put up 32 on 57% shooting while Luka was guarding him you'd be demanding he be crucified for lack of ability to stop anyone. It's almost like y'all a bunch of hypocrites.....

[@Mist_R]

​@@SDesWriterwomp womp

[@maniravsadhur8409]

All the Mavs have to do to win these finals is to learn how to play like a team. In three days' time. Easy. Or they could pin their hopes on Doncic and Irving scoring 60 pts each. Either way, that'll be a walk in the park, for sure.

[@SDesWriter]

Another thing would be if someone for the Celtics got a season ending injury.....that's especially tough. It's even worse on a big man.....

[@cmac392]

stop with Denver. MPJ is a defensive sieve & Murray is as dependable as KP

[@SDesWriter]

Murray also is a terrible defender. It would have been a fun series to watch him and Kyrie match up but KCP on Luka??? Are you freaking kidding me? 40ppg/10/14 even WITH the injuries.

[@onetake721]

Luka might be the worst defender I ever seen play basketball! This makes him not as good as everyone thinks he is!! Tatum is way better

[@alexfish128]

Jesus christ😭

[@aronnov]

Can you show how easily Luka blew by Tatum and how little effort it looked like? You seem to have a lot to say about Luka’s defense on twitter. Look forward to the ease of it and video analysis on Tatum. Or should we just assume you’re bias with an agenda? Thanks.

[@steveee_]

when’s the celtic video

[@boblully5053]

Celtics fans are now saying tatum is better than luka and jokic

[@SDesWriter]

Last laugh is on them. Check the injury report.

[@6estinyxarrives239]

@@SDesWriterthis will be fun to come back to

[@waded2678]

Mailbag: is good defense and 18 ppg on bad efficiency really putting tatum in the best player in the world talks? I think he needs to play better offense for his narrative to change

[@HoopEnthusiasts]

Fun fact: Tatum is the only ‘star’ player in finals history to shoot under 36%fg.

[@michaelbarnes2126]

Nah that’s not true it’s the lowest since 1960 something so you are lying. Plus he’s rebounding, playmaking, defending the bigs of Dallas and blowing past Luka every night in these Finals, better than your favorite player could 😂🍀🍀🍀🍀

[@benmorgan9748]

@@mansionman717Sheeeesh, someone check on HoopEnthusiasts after that 😂

[@ou8428]

Did you forget Kobrick Cryant going 6/24 in game 7, 2010 getting bailed out by corrupt refs, Pau, and Ron Artest? That's 25%

[@wolfiejr.5992]

@@mansionman717just don't act like they won cuz he was just the best

[@donaldpratt2296]

I mean, Larry Bird shot under that in three of the games in his first championship. Let’s let the series finish first.

[@JCC311]

Great analysis and discussion. The problem is that there are two ways of analysing this series and it is unclear which Dallas are making. The one you both adopt (and I agree) is that Dallas has got their gameplan wrong. But, Dallas have also executed poorly. If Dallas had hit their free throws, shot averagely from 3, not conceded turnovers etc, they would be tied or even 2-0. In my view, they would have been lucky to have been in that position, because it feels like Boston have underperformed. My question is whether there is a problem for coaches when analysing games to be able to read it correctly when both explanations are possible? Does the coach who devised the gameplan (and all the things Dallas is doing that aren't working must be part of the gameplan because they have done it regularly over two games) think that they messed up and got the gameplan wrong or say that they got it right but were let down by poor execution?

[@sindilacion]

I think it's clear as day. From a strictly basketball perspective, there was no reason to believe this series was going to go a different way. They simply don't have the players to matchup. Its almost as if Boston was inadvertently built to destroy the only thing the mavs are good at on defense. Miami's spurts of zone were kicking the celtics butt last playoffs, and the celtics addressed that issue in the offseason. The mavs can only hope the celtics shoot themselves out of games. Dallas offense and their rotations is too intertwined with their defensive rotations. There's no middle ground when they sub out their bigs. Don't know how Kyrie's performances against the celtics flew under the radar even though they had 10 previous games to go off of over the span of years. That includes Regular season + playoffs. His inconsistent playoff performance in general seems to get ignored.

[@JCC311]

@@sindilacion Agree about Kyrie, the problem with him right now isn't just that he is bad against the Celtics, its the amount of time he takes off the clock, predictability of playing iso, and total lack of ball movement. If you watch the tape, the Mavs are actually opening the corners, but the ball doesn't move there, and Kyrie is especially bad. The issue is whether you say, "Ky, we need you to hit your shots and attack even more", or say "Ky, this is not your series, we need you to move the ball more, play less iso, take fewer shots and play off-ball more". I actually don't think the solution is for him to 'play better', it is for him to do less. It is what worked against OkC. Attract attention but let others shine. I don't think most people see it like that though. They want him to take 20 shots, to play iso and just do it better, even though the Celtics have proved they can defend him well and it is not a strategy that stresses their defense. I don't agree that there is nothing the Mavs can do. They can mix up their coverages more, they can play more zone, they can pre-switch so the celtics don't get their ideal match-up early in the clock. They can run more actions, make the extra pass etc. The Mavs have used double screens before, but don't seem to use them at all in this series. The Mavs have a very clear strategy in this series, play iso on offense (at least, if that isn't the strategy someone needs to tell Luka and especially Kyrie) and switch everything on defense, especially switch Luka and the centres onto the ball at all times. It isn't a good strategy.

[@mctaguer]

Why did the Lakers only offer 6/$70M? Because they've become cheap. They've let players walk over money, they're gonna go all out on a coach (the thing they get rid of like a strobe light). They're not REALLY the Lakers anymore in terms of money, decision-making or destination.

[@johngoodman21]

Shit is so funny. Lmfao Jason calling for a sweep basically. We will see you in just a couple days

[@SDesWriter]

Boston is going to be about 260lbs light.....

[@simonliu448]

5 out is not THE ONLY solution, it's all about matchups, Denver would have crushed this Celtics team, Lakers would get a chance against OKC, matchups matchups matchups!

[@omergabriel6065]

Mail beg : if kp cant play , do you think boston can go to a small ball with Tatum at the 5 He is guarding the mavs C anyway 🤔

[@heretowatch1073]

#1 Luka has to step up defensively: it’s clear the Celtics have no problem targeting him with the J’s in iso or pnr and they easily blow by him, and also when Luka is targeted they easily get into rotation because they have to overhelp on him, then it’s just swing swing wide open 3 or again easy bucket at the rim.

[@JCC311]

They need to hide Luka defensively more. He can't just switch onto the ball all the time. First, he is not great on-ball. Second, it makes him work all game, given how much of the offensive burden he carries. Remember going into this series what Boston said their gameplan for Luka was: we can't stop him but we can make his life difficult and try to tire him out on defense. Hiding Luka is necessary for Dallas to improve on both sides of the ball.

[@user-zb8tq5pr4x]

Totally agree, but if Luka is gonna spend that much energy defensively, the other guys must hit shots. Didn't Luka literally score or assisnt in every single point in the 3rd quarter? That's ridiculous. You can't ask that much of 1 person. The times when Luka plays the best defense are the times that the other players make plays and hit shots.

[@addster124]

​@JCC311 if they double to prevent luka in isolation switches, then the celtics will find the open guy.

[@jbbrolic]

Luka can't play defense if he's the only player who is a threat at all on offense

[@JCC311]

@@addster124 As opposed to beating Luka, getting the defense in rotation, and kicking out to the open guy for an even easier shot? And also tiring Luka out so he has less energy to respond on offense?

[@zinktomas8251]

Boston has like 110 offensive rating so far this series. That’s really not bad at all, particularly considering it’s the Celtics. I don’t think it’s the defense that’s the main problem. It’s the Mavs offense

[@SDesWriter]

Exactly. All these geniuses wanting to blame Luka and with him playing the way he is, Boston is shooting 30% from 3 and 45% overall at 106ppg. Dallas' defense is just fine. They were already going to win Game 3, but now it's going to get REAL interesting. Boston may be in trouble.

[@wannabegolfin24-72]

the celtics had the no. 1 offense in the entire league. Don't let the media narratives drive your thoughts. The Celtics have struggled shooting. The mavs get some credit for that

[@SDesWriter]

@@wannabegolfin24-72 No, they didn't. The Wolves had the #1 defense, and the Mavericks have had the #1 defense for the last 3 months. Dallas is very good, but OKC is a better perimeter defense and Dallas is better overall.

[@wannabegolfin24-72]

@@SDesWriter bro, I said no. 1 offense.

[@wannabegolfin24-72]

@@SDesWriter no edits

[@isaachardy4530]

Jason the GOAT

[@temporalsoliton]

So smart he picked Boston (over the warriors in 22) . Picked Dallas over the Celtics this year.

[@BLACKSTONEPOET]

💯

[@OMW2FYBIRL]

@@temporalsolitonhe picked the Celtics in 6 this year and picked the warriors in 22. lol what?

[@temporalsoliton]

@@OMW2FYBIRL my mistake. Got my channels crossed.

[@SDesWriter]

18pts@27% / 9/12. Those are.....wow.....I mean kind of okay.

[@tylerroe5175]

The one guaranteed way to lose to Boston is to get into a shooting match with them. That is a terrible terrible take down 0-2 in the Finals. How are you both going to seriously suggest that when even Kyrie is stinking it up on jump shots?? You’re NOT going to out shoot Boston consistently. The Mavs are losing because their defense has been complete ass and Kyrie is seeing ghosts. Watch a recent Awful Coaching channel video and it’s completely obvious

[@onetake721]

Stop doubling Tatum so he can drop 50

[@conniemorris8181]

Why doesn’t Dallas try a zone

[@RightStickRob]

Because all five of the Celtics players are three-point shooters. If a center camps underneath the basket you’re leaving a shooter open constantly. You could just send Porzingis to the nail and he will destroy them from the mid range. He led the NBA in post points per possession and shoots around 56% on those shots. As soon as the center picks up, you could send the corners on back doors and get free buckets all day. The Celtics don’t struggle with his zone anymore. Playing Miami the last several years taught them how to overcome the zone.

[@ceerawlins3412]

They need to stop doubling tatum otherwise the non 'stars' will keep FEASTING

[@dp2120]

Zone doesn’t phase the Celtics because of their shooting. Miami tried zone in round 1 and got torched.

[@AmorCorona5]

Denver would could smoked also, Murray is a fraud and Jokic isn't any better than Luka. No chance

[@ceerawlins3412]

Play straight D....you think tatums a bum? Play him man and.sag on his 3. Alternatively, keep doubling him and getting DESTROYED by jrue and white

[@onetake721]

He’s trying to say box and 1 smh non basketball players talking ball lol

[@kultan2000]

Mavs loses Unless Tonya Harding's boyfriend walks through that door and goes crazy on the knee caps of Celtic players and even then THEY STILLOGHT LOSE.😂😂😂😂

[@ss_IIII]

has sam come out of the closet?

[@znamor]

You do worry about sheer athleticism advantage for Celtics you said?! Really?! Why do most people not want Boston to win?! You sound so miserable and desperate rooting for these has been Mavericks. They should just already give up the trophy before it gets more embarrassing than it has been for them. Did someone in Boston hurt your feelings?! 😂 Tatum and Brown are both incredible while Dallas has only pathetic bandaids for players including Luca. Crash these untalented overhyped mavericks - gooo Celtics!! ♾️❤️🍀🏆

[@sindilacion]

That advantage was in favor of Boston. He was talking positively on Boston.

[@SDesWriter]

So butthurt.....🤣🤣🤣

[@brockjensen2473]

Let’s be real there is nothing defensively the Mavs can do outside of Luka playing better. The only way I see the Mavs having any chance is Kyrie stepping up on offense and allowing Luka to play better defense without burning all his energy on offense. The problem is Tatum 1 on 1 going at the rim is going to be a much more efficient scorer than we’ve seen this series because they keep bringing the double team… so the question for Dallas becomes do you make Boston beat you via Tatum drives in 1 on 1’s or continue forcing him into tough shots with the double team resulting in him kicking it to perimeter players that are destined to get an uncontested 3 pointer

[@brandonsams2772]

Jason, love the show. You teach me a lot about the game and i appreciate it. Maybe you can squeeze this question into an upcoming mailbag? I’m wondering about the logic of best of 7 playoff series as opposed to best of 5 or best of 9. Is best of 7 really the best way to test who the best team is? Is best of 7 the best way to maximize league profit and minimize wear and tear on players’ bodies ? why not best of 5? i’m old enough to remember the first round of the playoffs being best of 5. so i’m curious about your take on why best of 7 is the most accurate set up to determine the best team. thanks !

[@seanisabel]

KP being hurt now has me a little concerned. If he doesn't play in game 3, Hopefully we can pull it out anyway to go up 3-0.

[@marioreyes4933]

I think mav need to stop playing half court game with celtic. More faster down the court like 80s L.A lakers vs celtics. Kyrie needs too point gard and push faster down the court . Luka need to be last down the court trailer. Like L.A lakers vs celic in 80s

[@artemisfowl2182]

I think on d its about guys being more disciplined, gambling less and trying to myb preswitch luka out of pnr or late double switch the action, myb if its closer to the basket bring a 3rd defender in and then contest, throw in a zone every now and then and try to give luka some rest at least... On offense they need to hit shots, specifically Kyrie who I love but he is nowhere on offense and he is too big of a defensive problem to not be producing, like they are shooting beyond horrifically from 3, go to more gafford post ups against tatum, and myb try do more offball actions that involve luka even coming off screens or are allowing djj/PJ to get behind the defense, they can also use that action I can't remember the name where a big and a wing set two screens at about the three point line that they run against Minnesota, but add a slip for for the first screener and myb have the other guy go screen him just to make Boston think about that, also empty up that side so that no one can tag the roller except for the low man allowing a refreshing corner 3 that dallas needs... Overall they need to lock in mentally, like many TO came from just bad desicions and on d they need to stay disciplined

[@unrulybill]

Celtics will have to miss the plane

[@SDesWriter]

Or have a season ending injury to a star player.....oh wait.....🤣

[@NebraskaSXHC]

If tingus too hurt to defend the rim and nail 3s the Celtics become weaker on both ends and I think Dallas has a window. Idk how they can make it work otherwise.

[@MihoyMinoy-si8fb]

Nope, Boston doesn’t need Porzingis to beat Dallas. KP is simply a luxury at this point.

[@tim.noonan]

@@MihoyMinoy-si8fbI really fkin hope you’re right

[@SDesWriter]

@@MihoyMinoy-si8fb Not much of a luxury anymore.

[@SDesWriter]

He's going to be a bit busy with the surgery and 3-6 month recovery.

[@92KM1]

Denver is overrated

[@sittingbull7445]

So dallas shooting way under average isn't relevant because boston are intentionally leaving them open? Not sure how that makes sense

[@circaen]

Their defense was good enough in game 2. They need to hit shots & Kyrie needs to be 3/4 of himself at least.

[@SDesWriter]

I'm thinking you're going to see a marked improvement with shots at the rim. Just a hunch....

[@ericplnc1]

Celtics missed a bunch of wide open shots. The Mavs defense doesn’t match up well with the Celtics

[@SDesWriter]

@@ericplnc1 You guys keep claiming that, but it's not true. I found an analytics page from the guy who works for Dallas (and the Lakers), then when Celtics fans claimed it didn't match what was on other sites, I just decided to do it myself. So I watched the game again and stopped and charted EVERY 3 Boston took and after finishing the first half I came up with 1 open shot (missed), 1 wide open shot (made), 5 Contested shots (2'-6') and 4 Heavily contested shots (less than 2'). Go back and watch the game again and try to find all those "Wide open shots". Good luck.....

[@SDesWriter]

@@ericplnc1 No they didn't. I found an analytics page made by the guy who works for Dallas and the Lakers charting those and it was the opposite of what all you Celtics fans claim. Then after I got challenged because other sites have different numbers I just did it myself. I watched the game (as much as I could find online) and paused & measured the distance between defender and shooter on every 3pt shot Boston took. Like the professional who I follow, it turned out that in the first half there was 1 open 3 (missed), 1 wide open 3 (made), 5 Contested 3s (2' - 6') and 4 Heavily contested 3s (less than 2'). There was no avalanche of wide open shots that were missed just because the basketball fairies willed it. Stop trying to pretend Dallas doesn't have an effect on the shooting percentage and scoring totals of Boston. If you don't believe me, go look up the game highlights by quarter and you'll get the actual full game (minus a few minutes) and you can find all those "Wide open 3s" for yourself. Good luck with that.....

[@circaen]

@@ericplnc1 It does without Kristaps out there. Their offensive rating tanks to below 100 without Kristaps. So we will see if he can play.

[@shawnb9589]

Porzingas just announced day to day, serious and rare injury on top of his calf strain, he's done for... dallas bout to pick and roll Boston to death and win this series...

[@Dsi303]

I mean he was playing 20 minutes a game, either way they have to still play D against Boston. If Kornet plays though maybe cuz that dude is a negative for Boston in the playoffs

[@shawnb9589]

@Dsi303 Boston announced him as questionable, day to day, serious and rare injury, Hes done, trust me I'm a mavs fan I know all about tingus pingus health issues from experience... if he's out Boston can't defend the paint, defend the rim, or the boards, Tatum and brown have already choked away 2 finals series and their own ownership and gm don't trust then soo much so that they had to add 4 all stars to make sure they don't choke away another series... when your own gm doesn't trust you I'm not scared of you even if you are up 2 games on me.

[@Dsi303]

@@shawnb9589Okay I agree with that but Dallas still has to defend Boston and they haven’t shown they can stop them.

[@paulauger2609]

@@shawnb9589 lol. So Celtics lose a guy playing 20 minutes and they are done for? Celtics were 21-4 during the regular season without him and 9-1 without him in the playoffs. Guess they'll just have to start the five-time All-Star Al Horford instead.

[@SDesWriter]

@@Dsi303 He scored 32 points in 2 games on very efficient shooting and providing excellent rim protection. Boston was +25 with him in the game and +0 when he was out. So.....

[@elihg3827]

The playing super tight on the perimeter has been infuriating to watch. The Celtics aren’t making shots and the Mavs are like body to body anyway getting blown by.

[@SDesWriter]

The Mavs are body to body because Kidd WANTS them to get funneled to the lane where the rim protectors can stop them (and then contest the kickout which is why Boston is shooting so badly).

[@johngoodman21]

“Idk if they will shoot 26% from three again” uh. They have at least 1 more poor shooting night if not two. Dallas in 6

[@RightStickRob]

How does one more poor shooting night result in the Mavericks getting four straight wins when Boston is clearly the better team and hasn’t lost to the Mavericks since March 2022? make that make sense.

[@kashifsingh791]

And Dallas still didn't win when they had a poor shooting night lol

[@sindilacion]

Dallas was down 13-15 points on a 26% shooting night from 3. If that doesnt spell trouble, idk what does.