In the initial clash of the 2024 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics secured a dominant victory by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 107-89, which resulted in the Mavericks achieving their lowest scoring performance in the postseason. Jrue Holiday, the guard for the Celtics, stressed the significance of multiple defenders contributing to containing Luka Doncic, the star player of the Mavericks, highlighting it as a collective defensive strategy.
“The advantages of having various individuals stepping up to defend are evident,” remarked Holiday. “Each player brings their unique defensive approach—some being more assertive than others. However, I firmly believe that all our players, including those who are frequently underestimated, possess the capability to play strong defense. We aim for this to pose a considerable challenge for him, maintaining our defensive intensity.”
Jrue Holiday said:
“All our players, even those underrated, have defensive skills.”
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral)
Holiday was not singling out Celtics player Derrick “White,” but rather acknowledging the defensive contributions of teammates such as Payton Pritchard and Sam Houser.
The defense of Boston has been truly impressive this season, yielding the third fewest points (107.9) with the third-lowest opponent shooting average (45.5%), spanning both the regular season and the playoffs.
Interestingly, in the previous game’s triumph, the Celtics tallied the same number of blocked shots as the Mavericks did assists.
Stat of the night: Celtics match Mavericks in blocks and assists
On the Mavericks’ end, Kyrie Irving contributed 12 points and 2 assists, whereas Luka Doncic, who boasts the second-highest assists average in the league (9.8), only managed a single assist alongside his 30 points during Game 1.
Despite the recognition he gave to his teammates, Holiday, renowned for his defensive abilities, will play a pivotal role in the efforts of the Celtics to tightly guard Doncic throughout the series.
NBA icon Larry Bird once expressed his displeasure at being defended by players he perceived as not matching his level of skill, stating, “What always bothered me in the NBA was feeling undervalued when faced with a less skilled defender. I considered it disrespecting my talents.”
