And the stage is set for the 2024 NBA Finals at last. The last two teams standing in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, will be squaring off soon for the title, and the matchup has everyone hyped.
The Mavericks finally finished their Western Conference finals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night on the road with a 124-103 victory
With the tablet set for the NBA Finals, predictions for the Celtics-Mavericks matchup are starting to come in.
For former Los Angeles Lakers superstar center Shaquille O’Neal, the Mavericks will be able to solve the Celtics and pull off a series upset.
“The Celtics do not have three or four guys that can guard Luka. I like Dallas in this series. I like the way they’re playing,” Shaq said after Game 5 of the Mavericks-Timberwolves WCF series.
“The Celtics do not have three or four guys that can guard Luka. I like Dallas in this series. I like the way they’re playing.”
Doncic absolutely balled out in the Timberwolves series where he averaged 32.4 points on 47.3 percent shooting from the field and 43.4 percent shooting from behind the arc. He also racked up 8.2 assists and 9.6 rebounds through five games against Minnesota, which did not have an answer for the Slovenian superstar. In Game 5, Doncic went off for 36 points on 14/22 shooting from the floor.
For what it’s worth, the Mavericks are 0-2 back in the regular season versus the Celtics, but they have seemingly peaked as a team in the playoffs. It will be a much different Dallas squad that the Celtics will face in the finals.