After going through a gauntlet of contenders in the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks have now earned the right to face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. In turn, head coach Joe Mazzulla got real about their upcoming match against the All-Star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
As compared to other head coaches in the league, Mazzulla is relatively younger in this field of the NBA. He started as an assistant coach to Brad Stevens during the 2019-20 season and spent three years in that role. An unfortunate scandal pushed Ime Udoka out of the job in 2022, which then led him to get the top gig in Boston.
In his first season as the Celtics’ head coach, Mazzulla guided Jayson Tatum and company to a top-two finish in the Eastern Conference during the 2022-23 campaign. Unfortunately, they failed to finish the job when Boston lost to a Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat team in the Conference Finals last year.
This year, though, is another story after the front office revamped the roster with the addition of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday during the offseason. This allowed the Celtics to dominate the regular season and reach the NBA Finals faster than the Mavericks.
Boston Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla Gets Real on Facing Dallas Mavericks Duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic
With just a couple of days before the two teams meet in the Finals, head coach Joe Mazzulla got real about facing the duo of Doncic and Mavericks. In a tweet by Bobby Manning on X:
“Mazzulla said “there is no stopping” Irving & Doncic. It’s about playing a complete game: “Have an understanding how each possession has an effect on everything else.”
Added that IND tested their emotional maturity by living with 60% non-paint twos that the Pacers hit,” Manning tweeted.
Mazzulla’s Celtics only faced the Mavericks twice in the regular season with both games turning out in favor of Boston. The first game saw Tatum and his team defeat Dallas by nine points while their second meeting ended in a dominant 138-110 win.
It remains to be seen how Mazulla’s Celtics will fare against Doncic and Irving in the Finals. If anything, this will be a showdown to look out for in the coming weeks.
Be the first to comment