DALLAS — Jaylen Brown pursued Luka Dončić behind the midcourt line, causing the Mavs star to fumble briefly when trying to cross half court, lose the ball, and then get it back when he crossed the line and ran into Brown’s chest twice more. Halfway through the third quarter, with Dallas behind 71-65, he turned to gaze at Brown until Dereck Lively eventually lifted him off Dončić with a screen. Dončić encountered Xavier Tillman Sr. and made an attempt, but was unable, to score in the post against him.
Brown remarked, “I made that commitment before the season even started.” “I told myself that I wanted to be on the First Team All-Defense heading into the season and that I wanted to maximize my defensive ability. That didn’t happen, but it’s been really helpful for us to be in these situations and demonstrate your defensive versatility by scooping up players, defending post players, and preventing contested three-pointers. It has been a collective effort because this squad has a lot of excellent defenders.
When Boston’s offense stagnated late in Game 3, just over a year after Joe Mazzulla and a number of Celtics players acknowledged that the team had lost its defensive identity, it stood in for the team. Boston seldom sent helpers into the game and limited Dallas to 44% shooting and 25 three-point attempts. By switching up their defense and going one-on-one, the Celtics denied the shooter kickouts, giving Boston a commanding three-point lead. Dallas stagnated with an offensive rating of 102.1, which would have placed them lowest in the NBA this season, despite having only produced 14 corner three tries overall throughout the series.
To that purpose, each member of the Celtics team contributed, making it possible to have a simple game plan against a rival. As Joe Mazzulla already mentioned, the series will probably need a number of defensive coverages to solve. That came into play when Kristaps Porziņģis returned early in the series, Boston hedging several Dončić pick-and-rolls with help around the perimeter to keep Porziņģis down near the basket. However, after coming off the bench in Game 3, PorziņĖis missed much of it, which left Al Horford defending Kyrie Irving and Dončić mostly in a 1-5 zone around the perimeter.
It’s difficult to believe the Celtics’ defensive stats against the great players of the Mavs. They had a dismal 8-for-29 record against Horford, 5-for-10 against Sam Hauser, and 4-for-13 against Payton Pritchard. Tillman held them to 3-for-6 in his spot minutes on Wednesday.
Holiday remarked, “For me personally, you saw that Kyrie was going after me today.” We play for that, but on an individual level, I believe everyone takes satisfaction in being able to play defense and earn stops because we understand how difficult this game is and how difficult it is to win. On a team level, though, I believe we all support one another. Occasionally, I may perform a play or do anything, and guys may ask, “How did you do that?” My teammates have excellent defensive instincts, whether it’s to go for the steal, body someone, or something else entirely. I attempt to explain it.
In the face of Dallas’ guards, Brown, Tatum, Holiday, and Derrick White have exerted significant force at the point of attack. In the series, Dončić is shooting 47.3% from the field, but he is only getting 32.1% from three points and has committed 15 turnovers in addition to just 18 assists, one of which came in Game 1, the fewest assists in a game in three seasons. In Game 3, Brown saw an improvement in the team’s defensive energy as Dallas went on a 22-2 run in the fourth quarter. With a three-point lead, the Celtics forced Dončić and Irving to foul out on consecutive possessions.
With a 13-for-28 performance in Game 3, Irving increased his field goal percentage to 40%. However, he missed many crucial opportunities to score from point blank range, including a step-back three over Horford to his right with Dallas down four points in the final seconds of the game. His attempt.
The next day during practice, Irving was impressed with Boston’s effort and sat back. Now that the Mavs are back in Dallas for Game 3, he has now lost 13 straight games against the Celtics, and it isn’t even due of Lucky or the crowd. Despite having the players to cover both Irving and Dončić with length and many defenders, Boston never lets either player off the hook when it comes to defense.
When they hoist the trophy, it will be remembered as the signature moment for this championship team. As for Irving, who was taken aback by the retirement question, Boston’s defense has exposed a small weakness that has kept him from getting the extra bounce needed to overcome those defensive efforts.
When you’re in the Finals, you want to hit every shot, so it’s understandable to be frustrated, Irving said. “Observing the first two games, I saw that the physicality is a little different and that some of my shots were a little more rushed than they have been in previous series. These players from Boston are familiar with my style of play. They’ve been able to scheme for me for the previous few years because they know it well, so I’ve been thinking about them for a long now while I watch them, just like everyone else has been watching Boston be the greatest team in the league for the whole season. playing against Jrue, Jaylen, and JT has made me aware of the areas I still need to improve on since I can see how they can trust one another to make the appropriate defensive plays or hide some of their mistakes.
