The 2024 NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics hasn’t been the most competitive series. Boston jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the series, and every game has been played for the majority of the time with one team facing a double-digit deficit.
Despite the relative non-competitiveness of the games, the 2024 NBA Finals are going to be historic. Regardless of the outcome, when the whistle blows for the final time to close out the 2023-24 campaign, something will have happened for the first time.
As shared by Tom Haberstroh of Yahoo Sports, if the Dallas Mavericks can come back and win the series, they will be the first NBA team to come back from a 3-0 deficit and win. Out of the three major sports in North America with seven-game series in the postseason, the NBA is the only league that hasn’t had it happen.
But, if the Boston Celtics come out victorious, they will be the first team to lose a game by 38+ points in the NBA Finals and win the series. Normally teams who suffer a defeat of that magnitude don’t have what it takes to climb back in a series, but luckily for Boston, their defeat came already ahead 3-0.
Wanting to see history is going to be the selling point for the remainder of the series. In most facets, this has been an underwhelming four games, lacking competitive basketball. Even the stars of the series haven’t consistently shown up.
Luka Doncic has battled through injuries, but prior to his Game 4 two-way performance, his defensive effort has been lambasted. He hasn’t received much help from Kyrie Irving, who was effectively a no-show in Games 1 and 2 in Boston. Doncic scored 62 out of the Dallas Mavericks’ 187 points in the first two games; Irving had 28, which was third behind P.J. Washington’s 35.
For the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum has struggled mightily shooting the ball. He has made only 36.5 percent of his shots overall and 29 percent from 3-point range. Tatum also became the first player in NBA history to record multiple games with a plus/minus ratio of -30 or worse.
He is chipping in at other categories, grabbing 31 rebounds with 25 assists, but the shooting numbers are what sticks out for most people. Jaylen Brown has moved in as the favorite to win the NBA Finals MVP as a result.
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