BOSTON — Welcome to the 2024 NBA Finals, where the lights are just a little bit brighter… unless you ask Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.
“Unless they change the bulbs in the arena, there won’t be any lights brighter than last series,” Mazzulla said.
Boston’s coach is trying to deflect pressure from his players, but the pressure comes with this stage, and a lot of players will feel it. It was hard to narrow this list down to just five key players for the NBA Finals because guys like P.J. Washington for Dallas or Al Horford (just to name a couple) could end up being critical in this series.
Here are the five players where the spotlight will shine brightest.
1) Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics
For the last two rounds — thanks to injured opponents and the play of Al Horford — the Boston Celtics won handily without Kristaps Porzingis on the court.
That’s not happening against Dallas. Boston needs Porzingis out there.
He will be, saying he will play in Game 1, returning from a strained calf.
In case there was ANY confusion about KP's availability for Game 1... pic.twitter.com/DXAIqaVBXh
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 5, 2024
However, he’s quick to admit he’s been out since April 29 and there are conditioning and rust concerns.
“I haven’t played. I haven’t played for a while. [Thursday] will be my real, like, first real minutes in a while, you know?” Porzingis said. “I did as much as I could to prepare for this moment, but there’s nothing like game minutes and game experience that I’m going to get [Thursday]. It will be tough to jump into the Finals like this. I did everything I could to prepare for it and we’ll see [Thursday] night.”
Porzingis — who had three disappointing seasons in Dallas but has found himself again and thrived this season in Boston — changes this series because of his shooting and defense. But mostly his shooting.
Dallas has had defensive success prioritizing rim protection. It likes to drop centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford back into the paint to protect the rim — Porzingis’ 3-point shooting (37.5% this season) will pull them out because they can’t just concede 3s. Porzingis messes with Dallas’ matchups and if he can play a good 25+ minutes a night, the Celtics’ chances of winning it all go way up.
Boston also could use Porzingis’ defense in the paint, but he will be tested by Doncic on that end. Last round, the Timberwolves had a better mobile big defender in Rudy Gobert and Doncic torched him — but in combination with good perimeter defenders the hope is Boston can make Doncic work for his points and not get other players going with his passing and lobs.
2) Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
Kyrie Irving is the lightning rod in this series — for basketball and non-basketball reasons.
Irving draws out a special level of venom from Celtics fans. He is the guy who once stood at center court in the TD Garden, microphone in hand, saying in October of 2018, “If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here.” By the next July, things had soured and Irving bolted to join Kevin Durant in Brooklyn — and that’s not counting when he stomped on the Lucky the Leprechaun logo at center court or flipped off Celtics fans.
Those Boston fans are going to let Irving have it, just don’t expect it to rattle him as it clearly did before.
“There’s no fear out here, man. It’s basketball,” Irving said. “The fans are going to say what they’re going to say. I appreciate them and their relationship they have to the game. But it’s about the players at the end of the day.”
Irving is not the guy at the top of the Celtics’ scouting report — that rightfully is Luka Doncic — but unlike some of the other teams Dallas has faced this postseason, Boston still has enough good defenders to keep someone like Jrue Holiday on Irving. If Dallas is going to pull the upset, Irving is going to have to have a couple of big games and pick up the scoring load from Doncic.
3) Jrue Holiday, Boston Celtics
Holiday is not the best player on the Celtics — one could argue he’s fourth on that list when Porzingis is healthy — but he is the glue. He’s the guy who makes it all fit together (which is why Steve Kerr and Team USA invited him back to the Olympic team).
“I’ve said it all season. We’re so lucky to have him on our team,” Jayson Tatum said of Holiday. “Jrue literally does any and everything that we ask and that we need. More than that, he’s capable, right? He can hit big shots, obviously get a big stop, guard the five man if we need him to. So we’re very, very lucky to have him.”
As noted above, Holiday is expected to get the Kyrie Irving assignment to start the series, that is who he has covered in regular season matchups. How does Holiday slow Irving down?
"What can you do to nullify/thwart/stop Kyrie?"
— NBA (@NBA) June 5, 2024
Jrue Holiday: Pray
🤣 pic.twitter.com/OYr1hMdZ2w
“Pray,” Holiday said with a laugh. “No, I think it’s just familiarity. Just I think knowing each other’s game, doing your best to stay in front of him, trying to take away the things that will probably hurt you the most. Probably most of all having help. Him being able to see multiple guys on the court, making it look like it’s crowded, making shots as tough as possible, even though he’s a tough shot-maker.”
Holiday is not going to win Finals MVP, but if Boston hangs banner No. 18, Holiday’s fingerprints will be all over the victories.
4) Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
It’s this simple: If Dallas is going to become NBA champions, Doncic has to be the best player on the court.
Anyone who watched him carve up the Timberwolves defense last round — the best defense in the NBA last season — knows he’s capable. As much as its the step-back 3s or floaters in the lane or lobs to bigs sliding out of the dunker’s spot, it’s more Doncic’s mind that sets him apart.
“I think he’s one of the smartest players in this league,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “That’s why, again, we’re playing in the Finals, because of his IQ and his willingness to step up on that stage and not be afraid to fail.”
5) Jaylen Brown
I could easily put Jayson Tatum here — the best player on the Celtics, a First-Team All-NBA talent — but Brown will be more critical this series.
That’s because he will draw the Doncic assignment (that’s what Boston did in its March regular season win and there’s no reason to switch it up now). Brown isn’t going to stop Doncic, nobody can, but if he can make the Mavericks star work for his buckets — and if he and Tatum can test Doncic on the other end of the court and make him defend — the Celtics chances at banner No. 18 improve.
Brown is coming off an Eastern Conference Finals MVP series where he averaged 29.8 points, five rebounds and three assists a night while playing elite defense. If he does that again, he could be hoisting a different series MVP trophy.
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