Joe Mazzulla savvy gameplan propels Celtics Game 1 win vs. Mavericks (2024)

BOSTON — The Celtics held a resounding talent edge over the Mavericks entering the NBA Finals but that gap has only grown in recent days. Kyrie Irving suffered his 11th straight loss against a Boston team content to show off its weak spots.

“It’s not the first time I’ve lost in Boston,” Irving said. “I don’t want to continue to make it a habit but they’ve had a few games over me and they have our number -- not our number, I don’t want to say our number but the past few teams I’ve been on, they have had my number a little bit. You have to give credit to a good team. They have been good the past three or four years.”

Joe Mazzulla ensured that Boston would be more than good in Game 1 on Thursday night though. He put together a disciplined defensive gameplan that left the Mavericks scoring a postseason-low 89 points while handing out the fewest assists in a playoff game in 25 years.

Boston switched openly for the majority of the night, leaving a Mavs offense with fewer scoring windows and easy advantages.

“I thought give the Celtics credit,” Jason Kidd said. “They did a great job defending, making it tough on us. We had some good looks that didn’t go down. We’ve got to move the ball. The ball just stuck too much. And we’ll be better in Game 2.”

Mazzulla’s plan also led to the Mavericks stars second guessing themselves in their ugliest loss of the postseason.

“We’ve got to look ourselves in the mirror and it starts with me as one of the leaders on the team,” Irving said. “How can I be better and how can I be more poised in this environment? It’s not the booing and it’s not the missed shots. It’s more or less our attitude and how we approach possession by possession.

“Our identity has been made on the defensive end. We have proven that.

We have all-world talent on this team, skillset is out of this roof, but now it’s just about remaining confident and always knowing that you have somebody that’s been through it but now it’s our turn to go through it together. You know, this is what makes it exciting.”

Offensively, the Celtics kept the pressure on with constant drive and kicks from the perimeter, stretching how the Mavericks’ rim protection. That’s a formula Dallas was ill equipped to deal with given the talent discrepency.

“I think this is the best team in the NBA and they are good for a reason,” Kidd said. “They play their style of basketball at a high rate. They generated 27 threes there in the first half, and made I think 11 of them, so we have to be better. We can’t give them seven made threes in the first quarter. That would have outscored us with only scoring 20.

“So we have to be better. Give them credit. They were good tonight. But again, we’ve got to be better. Nerves or not being in this situation, we can’t use that as an excuse. It’s just basketball, and we’ve got to be better at the game of basketball on Sunday.”

The series is a long way from over but if Mazzulla keeps the pressure on during these areas, it could be a quick series for Boston.