Boston: Boston Celtics will be facing off against the Dallas Mavericks at the iconic TD Garden in the 2024 NBA Finals on Friday (as per IST).
The 2023-24 NBA season began in October last year, and after eight months of intense competition, it will conclude with who between the Celtics and the Mavericks will lift the championship.
The Celtics are in the NBA Finals for the second time in the last three seasons, and are hoping to secure their 18th championship title and be the most successful side in the league. If they lift the title, it would break their tie of 17 with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championship wins in the league’s history.
But its easier said than done as the Mavericks are eyeing their second title in franchise history in their third appearance at the NBA Finals. The seven-game series will begin in Boston, as the Celtics won 64 games in the regular season to have the best record in the NBA.
The Celtics have won 12 out of 14 games in the Playoffs en route to the NBA Finals. They’re led by All-NBA First Team selection Jayson Tatum and Eastern Conference Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, as the duo led the Celtics back to this stage after a 4-2 series loss to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals.
On the other hand, the Mavericks won’t have the home-court advantage but are in the midst of an incredible Playoff run. With 50 wins, the Mavericks secured the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and have been the road team in every Western Conference series.
They’re the first team since the 2010 Los Angeles Lakers to beat three 50-win teams en route to the NBA Finals, with the 2010 Lakers beating the Celtics in the Finals that season. The Mavericks are led by 2023-24 NBA Scoring Leader and All-NBA First Team selection Luka Dončić and eight-time All-Star Kyrie Irving.
The Mavericks could become the first No. 5 seed in NBA history to win the NBA Championship. The 2024 NBA Finals will be packed with intrigue, as Kyrie Irving returns to Boston, where he played from 2017 to 2019 while Kristaps Porzingis will wear the Celtics’ uniform in a return to Dallas, where he played from 2018 to 2022.
A new champion will be crowned for the sixth consecutive season in the 2024 NBA Finals, tied for the longest streak without a repeat champion. This same streak was last seen from 1974 to the 1980 NBA Finals and was guaranteed this season after the reigning champions Denver Nuggets were eliminated in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
The NBA Finals feature a matchup between two, five-time NBA All-Stars and 2023-24 and All-NBA First Team selections who are trying to win an NBA championship for the first time: Luka Dončić, 25, of Dallas Mavericks and Jayson Tatum, 26, of Boston Celtics.
The Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is the youngest head coach to make it to the NBA Finals since Bill Russell, who achieved the feat in 1969, at the age of 35. Mazzula is of the same age as Russell was in 1969. Interestingly, both coached the Boston Celtics, with the Celtics winning the championship back in 1969.
The Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd is looking to become the eighth head coach in NBA history to win a title with the same franchise as a player and a head coach, as he was the starting point guard on the title-winning Mavericks in 2011.
The NBA Finals will be broadcast on JioCinema, Sports18 – 1 (HD & SD), Sports18 – 3, Sports18 Khel, and NBA League Pass in India from 6am IST.
–IANS