The 2023-2024 National Basketball Association (NBA) championship series between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, which kicks off on March 7, promises to be one of the most entertaining in NBA history.
After an epic nine-month run that began last October, the 2023-2024 season is now down to two teams: Eastern Conference champion Boston and the Dallas Mavericks, who swept the top-seeded teams in the Western Conference.
Boston has been the most dominant team this season. With a 64-18 record, they had the best winning percentage among the NBA’s 30 franchises. Led by the “one-two punch” of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, backed by players like Al Horford and Derrick White, the Celtics are even stronger now that Kristaps Porzingis 토토사이트 순위 is set to return from injury in Game 1 of the championship series against the Miami Heat.
The Celtics, who are currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championships with 17, will try to win an NBA-best 18 titles. Notably, Boston hasn’t won a championship since the 2007-2008 season, when the “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen were formed. They reached the championship game in 2009-2010 and 2021-2022, but finished as runners-up in both seasons.
Dallas reached the championship game despite finishing fifth in the Western Conference with 50 wins and 32 losses. If Dallas wins its second championship in a row, it will become the second team in NBA history to win the title with the second-lowest regular-season record, following Dirk Nowitzki’s 2010-2011 season. That distinction belongs to the Houston Rockets, who finished sixth in the Western Conference in the 1994-1995 season and reached the championship game.
Overall, the odds are in favor of Boston, which has a ton of firepower. However, Dallas has its moments. It’s the one-two punch of Luka “Hallelujah” Doncic and Kyrie “Uncle Drew” Irving.
Throughout the playoffs, the Mavs have been able to torment opponents with Doncic and Irving’s alternating bursts, especially when opponents are determined to stop both of them, and their alley-oop plays with Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lillibulli often leave opponents in the dust. It’s nothing compared to Boston’s one-two punch of Tatum-Brown.
This championship game will be a special one for Dallas head coach Jason Kidd. Kidd led the Mavs to their first championship with Nowitzki in 2010-2011, when he played for Dallas. Now, he’s back in Dallas to try to win a championship as head coach.