Remember when the Mavs jammed and blocked shots, imposing their will like bullies? Remember the Pose? Remember when they drained so much energy from a foreign arena that you couldn’t even recognize the so-called face of the NBA because it was hidden by an oxygen mask? What happened to those Mavs?
Where did they go?
The last time we saw them, they had kicked Minnesota out of the playoffs, winning three times on the Wolves’ home court. They turned the league’s best defense into a joke and made a meme out of Jaden McDaniels wincing while Rudy Gobert danced with Luka Doncic.
Don’t know about you, but I miss those Mavs. Although, to be honest, those last-second wins that defined their playoff run were thrilling, they were also stressful. Rewriting your column on a tight deadline with your heart pounding and your editor tapping her toe takes a bit of the fun out of it.
Remember when a skinny 7-footer who shot 3s — Chet Holmgren, a younger, healthier version of Kristaps Porzingis — wasn’t a big deal? Remember when Dereck Lively II seemed like the Mavs’ third-most important player? Remember when a certain sportswriter wrote that the Mavs might not only have the best player still standing, but also the top two?
Luka is still No. 1, but the Celtics might have the next five best players. And that’s the problem. The Mavs put all their effort into guarding Jayson Tatum, and it’s worked to some extent. But focusing on Tatum is like trying to hold back a firehose—it just sprays the Celtics' offense everywhere else. In Sunday’s 105-98 loss, the Mavs held Tatum to 18 points, but Jrue Holiday, typically a lockdown defender, scored 26 points, more than double his season average.
Jason Kidd stirred the pot when he said Boston’s best player was Jaylen Brown, which didn’t sit well with Brown. Some believe Kidd was trying to create friction between the Celtics’ stars or get in Tatum’s head. Or maybe Kidd was being honest. Brown, the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, has been crucial in the Finals too.
Did you see that moment on Sunday when Kyrie Irving, who still hasn’t made a 3-pointer in the Finals, went one-on-one against Brown? Brown made Kyrie look like he was banging on locked doors in a dark, dangerous alley.
Brown was also involved in the game’s most controversial play when he blocked P.J. Washington’s dunk attempt that could have cut the Celtics’ lead to three with 50 seconds left. Even if it should have been a foul, considering how poorly the Mavs shoot free throws, the no-call might have been a blessing.
Speaking of defense, Boston has done whatever it wants on both sides of the ball. They’ve played Luka and Kyrie straight up, expertly passing them off from one defender to the next, leaving the Mavs with few open corner 3s. Before the Finals, the Mavs had shot more 3s than anyone, but in the last two games, they’ve only taken eight and made just two.
Come Wednesday at American Airlines Center, the Mavs will need to hit more 3s and free throws. Maybe being back home will help Kyrie. Maybe someone from the bench will step up before it’s too late.
Chances are, no matter what the Mavs do, it won’t be enough. Not only are the odds against a team down 0-2, but the Celtics haven’t even reached their peak in this series. Those 64 regular-season wins were no fluke. There’s no shame in losing to Boston, which looks historically good.
Before their surprising run ends, it’d be nice if the Mavs who worked so hard to build it showed up again. Even if they don’t change the outcome, at least they’d go out on their own terms. They can live with that.
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