Full context:
Q: “You’ve mentioned confidence and belief. Yes, you guys are at home, and Boston held serve at home like they’re supposed to. But what are some of the things that you really can look at from those first 2 games and say, ‘that’s gonna work for us?’ Like, what are some of the things you can look at from 1 and 2 and say ‘we’re confident in this?’”
A: “Just trying to keep getting open looks. I think our defense has not been bad. We just can’t really score. That’s our main problem right now. But I think we’re getting some great looks, and like I said, we have confidence everybody can make a shot that’s shooting the ball on our team. So we just gotta keep believing it.”
by mastacheef87
41 Comments
I mean to be fair, they haven’t been able to score and I tend to think that’s the bigger issue here. But I also don’t think their defense has been great.
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[Idk man, the defense hasn’t been great](https://streamable.com/fg1yf3)
I do think that the defense is the bigger issue. Brown and Tatum are getting 2 feet in the paint every time down the floor and the C’s are shooting about 3 more wide open 3’s per game than they did in the regular season…and they shot a lot of wide open 3’s per game in the regular season. Just because the C’s are shooting about 3% worse on wide open 3’s, doesn’t mean that it’s a good thing they are giving those up.
The offense, particularly from Kyrie, does need to be better too. I just don’t see any resistance on the perimeter.
I mean they’re executing their scheme fine on defense I think. It’s just that the scheme isn’t really working that well against this team (despite the poor shooting in game 2).
but yeah the bigger issue is that nobody other than Luka is getting anywhere on offense
he’s not wrong the fact there’s no other players on the mavs who’s made more than one 3 in a game besides luka is pathetic
Boston’s shot quality last game on the 3s was very good. Just because the shots weren’t dropping doesn’t magically make it good defense, if you give Boston those same looks next game you’re going to almost certainly get blown out
[KYRIE](https://youtu.be/CdiZABe2eC0?si=UtVDvcDbaNVHEGcs)
He’s not wrong.
ORTG against Dallas in the playoffs (from Cleaning the Glass, which excludes garbage time):
* LAC, 108
* OKC, 113
* MIN, 113
* BOS, 114
Meanwhile, the Mavs own ORTG has plummeted this series:
* LAC, 117
* OKC, 114
* MIN, 119
* BOS, 101
Celtics missed 29 three pointers in game 2 and still had enough offense to win.
Celtics went 4/16 on open 3’s and 6/18 on wide open 3’s. That doesn’t point to great defense it points to missed shots on great chances.
https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612738/shots-dash?LastNGames=1
We scored under 100 points in two straight games there is no argument what the bigger issue is as a team. Obviously individually for Luka, the defense is what needs to be better, but that is not the discussion here.
He’s right but dumb redditors/Celtics fans will just jerk themselves raw over a 1 minute clip compilation of bad defense
Fasho. I watched em beat the living shit out of the wolves. They dont miss this bad from 3. Its really surprising how they blowin up open looks. Even passing off good looks
I watched JT and JB turn the corner on Luka every single time they were on him lol, he literally played the most dogshit defense I’ve ever seen. What is he talking about? If we hit our open looks, which there were *plenty*, they lose by like 25.
luka is the problem on defense
The entire Celtics offensive game plan is to just attack Luka, because it is free points. The Mavs have to crash 2 defenders in to help, and they get easy kick outs for wide open shots. People are criticizing Tatums scoring, but this is the plan.
The Thunder did the same exact thing, our role players just didn’t hit open shots. Every time we attacked Luka, we got exactly what we wanted, which clearly the Celtics studied. Unless Luka learns to play defense mid-series, I don’t see this improving for them
He’s right. But like I think their offense is a product of the Celtics not doubling Luka. Let him get his. If you lose to Derrick Jones Jr, so be it.
But the Mavs defense also hasn’t really been good. The Celtics shot quality was great in game 2. Got every look they wanted. Just didn’t drop.
Wtf is with all these, ‘He’s not wrong’ comments?
His team has played bad defense, they were handled in Game 1 and Game 2 the Celtics shot absolutely terribly on wide open shots.
Uh…says the guys who gets blown by at least 10 times a game?
Kyrie lit Minnesota up for 30 on three games and he ain’t even got 30 in these first two games. Kyrie needs to come out heavy from the start in Game 3 and get things going cause he ain’t made a three this series and he playing like shit.
No, Luka YOUR defense is *that bad*.
But he’s right that the Mavs need to step up on offense.
their defense has been bad. Celtics are generating an insane amount of wide open 3s – they make more and they’re giving up 120+ a game.
Boston’s offensive rating in the finals so far is 8 points lower than their regular season rating.
Meanwhile, Dallas’s ORtg has been about 16 points lower than their regular season average.
I think their 3pt % without Lukas made 3’s is 11%
No it’s just been YOUR defense
Bruh is confused
I think people are forgetting about shot quality
One of the big things I’ve noticed is almost every time the Mavs have made great defensive plays, they fail to turn it into points on the other end. Not gonna win a lotta games that way.
This is where the THJ contract is hurting the most.
Imagine if they had a consistent microwave guy off the bench.
People are acting like the Celtics were shooting 25% from 3 and overcame that like the Mavs had a great game, but the Mavs shot like 23% from 3 lol
The mavs just loved what the wolves did against them so much they couldn’t help but colt it
Nah, that’s bs. We’ve been getting great shots in both games, just missing a lot.
The teams defense has been alright. LUKA’S defense has objectively been bad.
They should put him the tape, defense was bad, I mean, Boston is beating up his 4 team mates (Im not counting him obviously)
He isn’t saying that the defense has been good y’all. He’s correct though that the defense isn’t nearly as bad as the offense as far as big problems right now.
Yes, it’s less the defense and more bad shooting and missed opportunities by Boston. What’s also worth mentioning though is that it’s not some sort of guarantee that things will improve for the Celtics. This is the biggest stage with the highest stakes, the shots may continue not to fall. Tatum’s poor shooting sample size is growing in the Finals – he’s doing great things to circumvent that elsewhere, but if the rest of the team keeps missing open opportunities like in Game 2, Dallas may be able to come back in this series. They just need someone other than Luka to step up, or to just accept that he has to double his shots per game. I still like Boston but this is not over yet.
the amount of times Luka got blown by, and the looks we’re getting is incredible, quit lying luka
Part of a good offense is not simply making the shots but rather beating defenses to get easier shots. Boston’s defense has been winning that battle so far. Dallas can be better as Luka says.
That’s what I was saying. The Celtics didn’t overwhelm them scoring. They just haven’t put the ball in the bucket. They need DJJ and PJ to hit the 3’s they’ve made all playoffs and Kyrie needs to show up.
Kyrie elevates his play and at worst they’re tied 1-1
Luka is a traffic cone, there is a clip of like 15 plays in game 2 where people just ran by him at the perimeter
lol. It has been that bad.
Don’t take credit for the Celtics missing open shots leading to one of the worst shooting performances of the season. If anything your defense is worse than everyone expected, not better.