NBA Finals Preview

We've finally arrived at the pinnacle of NBA basketball, the NBA Finals, where a new champion is set to be crowned. The stage is set for an epic showdown between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks. If you're finding it hard to choose a side, fear not—I'll be providing a comprehensive analysis of both teams and sharing my prediction for the ultimate victor.

Let's first talk about the Celtics, who had the best record in the NBA. They had a smooth journey to the finals, playing against teams that weren't at their best. I could delve into the technical stuff, but it’s summer and I feel like everyone’s done with math for now. Instead, my friend Owen Lomotan has explained what the Celtics need to do to win, what he's worried about, and the impact of this series. He says:

First off, it's crucial for the Celtics to get all their players healthy. Without Porzingis, winning will be tough. Also, Tatum needs to step up his game because he hasn't been at his best this postseason.

I'm most concerned about Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They're an amazing offensive pair, so stopping them from playing well will be key.

If the Celtics win, it'll show that Tatum and Brown can win after 6 trips to the ECF. But if they lose, people might start to think they're a great duo that can't win the big series when it counts.

The Mavericks had a tough journey to the finals, facing strong teams, but they managed to dominate their opponents. Dallas is aiming for their second championship in franchise history. Doncic and Irving dominate the stat sheet, but every championship contender needs to raid the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline to have a chance, and so the Mavs received a boost when they traded for Daniel Gafford, who leads the team in both poster-worthy dunks and obvious fouls. 

If they want to win the finals, the Mavericks need their supporting players to step up. It will be tough to stop Doncic and Irving, who averaged 59.4 points per game in the last series. But apart from them, the Mavericks don't have many players who score a lot, and will need to keep up with the Celtics, the highest-scoring team in the playoffs.

Owen also shared a bit of legacy of this series for the Mavericks:

With a Mavs win, Kyrie will have finally proven that he can win without LeBron and that he turned a corner of his career and became a leader. Luka will have taken one step closer to being the greatest Maverick of all time in the footsteps of Dirk Nowitzki.

With that being said with all of the facts I laid out… I predict that the Mavericks will win in six games. 

All I know for sure is that this is going to be a great NBA Finals.