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Brian Robb: Celtics expose key Mavericks vulnerability in Game 1 win

BOSTON — The Mavericks entered the NBA Finals with one of the best defenses in the league over the past two months after a trade deadline makeover. They cruised through most of the Western Conference playoffs while facing shorthanded or flawed offenses, scheming well to protect their shortcomings.

The equation changed on that front Thursday night against the Celtics. With the return of Kristaps Porzingis to the floor, the Celtics have a dynamic rotation filled with countless 3-point shooters. Everyone needs to be guarded on the perimeter and there is nowhere to hide. Luka Doncic found that out the hard way in Game 1.

The All-Star guard was blunt postgame in assessing the Mavericks’ defensive performance.

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“Their spacing is great and they have a lot of shooters,” Doncic said. “So I think we have to do a better job taking those threes away.”

Doncic is right on that front. The Celtics got a healthy diet of wide open 3s all night, shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc with seven different players making two or more 3s. However, the problem for the Mavericks is Doncic himself was a main culprit in creating those open looks for Boston all night.

The point guard is still dealing with a knee and ankle injury, which shows in his mobility. Yet, the bigger concern on Thursday night was a dismal defensive performance by Doncic by a Celtics team that was happy to hunt him for the better part of his 38 minutes. The aggression came early and often, leaving the remainder of the Mavericks defense struggling to cover up his mistakes.

Jrue Holiday is one of the best 3-point shooters on the Celtics roster this year, yet Doncic was happy to give him all the space he needed in transition early in the first quarter.

Jrue Holiday

Jrue Holiday takes a 3NBA

The struggles didn’t stop there with Doncic. When the Mavericks needed to rotate to help teammates recover after dribble drives, layups were surrendered when Doncic failed to make a proper rotation.

Doncic

Holiday open for a layupNBA

Whether it was over helping off of Sam Hauser in the corner or spontaneously double teaming Jayson Tatum, Doncic had poor defensive judgment all night long. When the Celtics got into their main offensive rut of the game in the third quarter, they snapped out of it simply by going back after Doncic in the pick-and-roll. The plays lead to open baskets or fouls with Doncic constantly getting blown bn dribble drives.

It’s hard to see how exactly the Mavericks can adjust to these woes. There are no non-shooters for Doncic to hide on during this series across Boston’s roster and the same goes for another subpar defender in Kyrie Irving.

That stands in sharp contrast to how the Celtics are playing on the defensive end.

“What makes our team really special is we don’t have guys that we hide on defense,” Jayson Tatum. “Bigs and guards, we switch, we take on the challenge of individual defense. Understanding that we have help, it’s a team sport, we all got to be on the same page, but we’re not showing or anything like that, because that could kind of compromise your defense. And, essentially, like, if you want to play on our team you have to be able to guard, and everybody knows that.”

The Mavericks don’t have the ability to do the same with Doncic on the floor. The All-Star is carrying such a heavy load for the team’s offense, there’s not much effort left for him defensively, a major concern for what was already a subpar defender. If the Celtics can keep a target on his back throughout the entire series, it’s hard to see Jason Kidd finding a solution to protect his star.

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