A strong Boston defence and small roster make Dallas’ offence imbalanced.
In Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals, the Mavericks struggled to recover in the third quarter as the Celtics surged in the second half. Dallas got three stops in a row, so its offence had to act.
Luka Doncic switched Boston backup big Xavier Tillman behind 71-65. Tillman played only because Kristaps Porzingis missed Game 2 due to a lower body ailment in the second half. Doncic squared him, danced with the ball as the shot clock ran down, and tried to shoot. Tillman stands his ground and forces Doncic to float it off the glass a step outside the permitted area. The shot isn’t close. Watch all four other Mavericks as the shot clock ticks down, and you’ll see something that’s uncomfortably common in this series: no one is moving.
Boston has all the key players. Tillman is only on Doncic because Jaylen Brown and Tillman switched pick-and-rolls with Doncic and rookie centre Dereck Lively. Lively doesn’t even roll hard to the rim, as with Brown’s switch, there isn’t any space for the lob. Instead, it’s four eyeballs watching Doncic try to pluck a rabbit out of a hat. It didn’t work, and for the Mavericks in this series, it hasn’t worked. Dallas is down 3-0 after a 106-99 Game 3 loss in Dallas, with the Mavericks now posting three straight games under 100 points, the first time the Doncic-led Mavericks have done it since a three-game losing skid back in December of 2021.
The Mavericks are in a strange situation since selecting Doncic; their offense is stuck.
While there will be plenty of lowlight reels and video showing the Mavericks defense once again flubbing against the league’s greatest offense, it’s the Mavericks own offense that has been the biggest problem thus far through three games. Dallas is scoring 103.4 points per 100 possessions in the Finals, according to Cleaning the Glass, an impossible total independent of the Mavericks botched rotations or Celtics blow-bys.
Boston is doing it by relying on a plan the Mavericks previous postseason opponents didn’t have the stomach for: they’re daring Doncic and Irving to beat them nearly singlehandedly.
“They (the Celtics) know how much of our offense over this playoff run has been predicated on getting easy looks for our bigs,” Kyrie Irving said after the game. “They’re taking it away, putting guards on the bigs, and not really helping off of them. A lot of 1-on-1 defense.”
Both Daniel Gafford and Lively’s scoring is down this series compared to the first three rounds, with notably fewer lobs between the two. Same goes for PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr., who feasted off free space and corner threes in the first three rounds when Doncic and Irving put the fear of god into the opposition teams, forcing doubles, blitzes, and traps. Those doubles are a distant memory, as Doncic only has 18 assists in 118 minutes played in the Finals.
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