The Boston Celtics secured a 2–0 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, winning Game 2 of the NBA Finals by seven on their home court.
After the game, Jaylen Brown linked up with members of the NBA TV postgame show for a quick interview, during which Shaquille O’Neal took the opportunity to offer him some “G-14 classification information,” or advice regarding the NBA Finals.
“Jaylen, I don’t have a question. But I’m going to give you some G-14 classification information, because this will be the last time you see me. It’s a riddle; do not get fixated on useless titles. Do what you gotta do. Doesn’t matter who’s who, or they say who’s what. It ain’t time for all that right now. Do what you gotta do and get it done,” O’Neal advised Brown.
Shaq: “Do not get fixated on useless titles. Do what you gotta do.”@MattWinerTV: “That made sense to you?”
Jaylen: “No.”
Shaq: “Okay well let me break it down… It don’t matter who the man is!”
Matt Winer then asked Brown if that rambling made sense to him, to which Brown honestly admitted that it did not. O’Neal then proceeded to break it down further.
“They’re trying to separate you and your guy [Jayson Tatum] by saying who’s better… Don’t worry about useless titles, it don’t matter who the man is. Kobe’s the man, Shaq’s the man, it don’t matter. I’m getting my 40, Kobe’s getting his 39, let’s go win a championship.”
Ahead of Game 2, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd told reporters that he felt Brown was the Celtics’ most important player, rather than Tatum. It appeared to be an attempt at some mind games from Kidd, aiming to pit Boston’s two superstars against one another.
Although no one on the Celtics seem to have taken the comments to heart, O’Neal felt the need to offer his advice to Brown amid the outside chatter surrounding who truly lifts the team. Brown, though not quite understanding fully where Shaq was headed, politely accepted the advice from the all-time great.
Editors’ note, June 5, 4:40 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to reflect the Boston Celtics' injury report for Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
There are many impressive aspects of the Boston Celtics' march through the Eastern Conference to the NBA Finals. Perhaps most impressive is that they ran through all their opponents without Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis, who averaged 20.1 points and 1.9 blocks in 29.6 minutes per game this season, went down with a calf injury on April 29 during Game 4 of the Celtics' first round series against the Miami Heat.. He hasn't seen the floor since, but Boston still posted an absurd 12-2 record over the first three rounds of the playoffs. Since he was healthy for one of those losses, that means the Celtics lost only one game in the month Porzingis has missed.
It is remarkable in many ways and speaks to the depth of the roster that president of basketball operations Brad Stevens built. And with Boston securing its place in the 2024 NBA Finals by way of sweeping the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, the time has finally arrived to see if the franchise can earn its 18th championship. The health of Porzingis will play a substantial role in that quest, and the Celtics earned themselves an extended break to get everybody (including their Latvian big man) healthy as can be.
Will Porzingis return in time to help the Celtics battle in the NBA Finals? Here's the latest on his right soleus strain.
Over the last week all signs have been pointing to Porzingis being ready to go for tip-off on Thursday for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He confirmed this to be the case while speaking to reporters on Wednesday, stating plainly that he plans to play.
As the Celtics have made abundantly clear over the last four weeks, they can win without Porzingis. But to reach the mountaintop and cement themselves in NBA history, they will take all the help they can get. A possible return at full health would be a game-changer against the Mavericks.
UPDATE, June 5, 4:40 p.m. ET: The Celtics released their injury report for Game 1 of the Finals, and Porzingis is not listed. That means he's going to suit up.
While the Celtics, by and large, match up well with the Mavericks, Porzingis would alter both ends of the court drastically. His ability to score on smaller defenders would severely limit the effectiveness of the switch-everything defense the Mavs have employed so successfully this playoffs. It's one thing when Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving is switched onto Rudy Gobert, who for all his value does not punish defenders in the post. But when they end up on Porzingis, who averaged 1.09 points per possession on post-up attempts (ninth in the NBA)? It means an easy bucket for Boston more often than not, and easy buckets are not supposed to happen in the NBA Finals.
If the Mavs don't switch, then Porzingis needs to space the floor in order to ensure Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II don't live in the paint. Dallas's pair of big men have been excellent locking down rim attempts in the postseason, which is especially crucial given Irving and Doncic's energy can wane on that end. Keeping Porzingis out beyond the three-point line means head coach Jason Kidd has to choose between guarding the 7-foot-3 center with one of Gafford/Lively, taking away easy chances to contest layups, or put someone smaller out there and start with a mismatch on Porzingis.
Defensively the Celtics may be challenged to play to Porzingis's strengths. He's best in drop coverage, and drop coverage is tough to play against shot-makers like the Mavs boast. Al Horford is a better switching defender and may end up playing big minutes as he did throughout the opening weeks of the playoffs. But Porzingis did average 1.9 blocks per game. He is a great rim protector whose skills are always useful, even if they may not be exactly optimal in this series.
As noted in a previous article about this very topic, Porinzigs' injury history is concerning and why the Celtics are taking it so slow.
His most serious injury came in February 2018, when Porzingis tore his ACL while playing for the New York Knicks. He missed the rest of the 2017-'18 season and the entirety of the 2018-'19 season in recovery. Since then, Porzingis has accumulated all sorts of bumps, brusies, and strains that have forced him to miss considerable time. He missed 39 games in 2020-'21, 31 games in 2021-'22, and 17 games in 2022-'23.
This past season, Porzingis missed 28 regular season games as he dealt with a variety of small injuries, the most severe of which was a calf strain that forced him to sit out a handful of contests. After suffering his right soleus strain, Porzingis has now missed 10 games.
The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 105–98 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, yet any good feelings about taking a 2–0 series lead were somewhat quelled due to the uncertain health status of the team's star center.
During the fourth quarter, Kristaps Porziņģis hurt his leg going for a loose ball against Dallas guard P.J. Washington. He stepped awkwardly, hopped and fell down. He then ran up and down the floor a few times with his leg clearly bothering him. At the next dead ball he was replaced by Al Horford and never returned. Here's the play where he was injured.
Porziņģis remained on the bench, appearing to stretch his calf. The interesting thing here is that he appears to be stretching his left calf. He just missed a month of the postseason with a right calf injury. He returned for Game 1 and was awesome.
If Porziņģis has a new injury to deal with, it could make the Finals interesting. Dallas lost the first games of their first and second round series and were tied 2–2 in both before eventually winning. If Porziņģis is hobbled, the Mavericks have a chance to even the series in Dallas. Boston fans might be holding their breath waiting for an update, but coach Joe Mazzulla is optimistic, saying after the game that he had "zero concern" about Porziņģis's health status.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is crucial for the Dallas Mavericks, as a loss would all be seal their fate against the Boston Celtics in this series.
Trailing 2-0, Dallas is looking to avoid the dreaded 3-0 series deficit -- something no team has ever come back from in a seven-game series in the history of the league.
On the bright side for Dallas, oddsmakers have favored Luka Doncic and company at home in Game 3.
The spread in Game 3 has moved since Kristaps Porzingis was diagnosed with a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon on Tuesday.
Porzingis is officially questionable for Game 3, and oddsmakers have moved Dallas from -2 to -2.5 in this game since the Porzingis injury was announced.
Boston has fared well without Porzingis this postseason, but he clearly makes the Celtics a better team, especially after dropping 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field in Game 1.
Can Dallas pick up a win at home to keep its chances to win the Finals alive?
Boston Celtics on the Road
Boston has dominated on the road in the playoffs, going 6-0 straight up against the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. Can it stay perfect against the Mavericks?
The C's are 22-22-3 against the spread on the road in the 2023-24 season overall, so their playoff performance has been even better.
Boston Celtics as Underdogs
This is just the fourth time this season that the Celtics are underdogs, and it's the first time in five months that they have been in this spot.
Boston is 1-2 against the spread as an underdog in the 2023-24 season. All of those games have come on the road.
Dallas Mavericks at Home
So far this season, Dallas is 25-24 against the spread at home, but that number is slightly better as a home favorite.
The Mavs are 19-17 against the spread as home favorites, although they have lost games at home in every series so far this postseason.
Teams Down 0-2 in Game 3
Dallas is down 0-2 in this series, but there is an interesting trend dating back to 2005 for these teams entering Game 3.
NBA teams down 0-2 at home since 2005:
• 91-47-1 first half ATS • 66-70-3 full game ATS
The first half trend has been even lately though, going just 13-14-1 1H ATS since 2020-21 (3-4 this year) pic.twitter.com/ecnq7LaJoo
However, the Celtics are the best team in the NBA against the spread in the first half this season, so bettors may want to be careful about having to lay points with Dallas, who is a slight favorite, in Game 3.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
