The Boston Celtics beat the brakes off the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, causing many to wonder if this series may be a one-sided affair. However, three-time champion Danny Green believes this blowout was nothing more than a mirage. In fact, the NBA veteran even seemed a bit worried for Jayson Tatum and Co.
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Green initially talked about how Luka Doncic took time to find his rhythm but was unstoppable as soon as he did. The former Los Angeles Lakers star then added that Kyrie Irving‘s rough outing was an outlier in the postseason, and the Celtics should be wary of him finding his groove in Game 2. He said on The Draymond Green Show,
“I won’t be too confident after watching tonight’s game. Ky[rie Irving] didn’t have a great game… Luka, took him a quarter to settle in, but once he settled in, he’s found something. He knows where he’s at. Now Ky just has to settle in. Once that happens, we are going to have a series, man.”
Green is spot on about Irving’s uncharacteristic display. The superstar guard shot just 6-of-19 from the floor and an abysmal 0-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Given his quality, the former Cavaliers star is not likely to have yet another 12-point stinker again in this series. So, while Jrue Holiday did an incredible job on the guard, things will likely only get tougher from here. And of course, Luka Doncic will have adapted to Boston to some degree as well.
So, while the Celtics did what they had to do, and started the series off in the best way possible, the Dallas Mavericks are unlikely to lose a game that easily again.
Danny Green bullishly backs the Mavericks to close the series in Dallas
At the tail end of their lengthy conversation, Draymond Green asked Danny Green to predict who’d be crowned champions at the end of this series. Not needing much time to think about his answer, the two-way player immediately answered that the Dallas Mavericks would win this series in six games. Explaining his rationale, he said,
“Before the series, I predicted Dallas in six. I’m still sticking with that. If they don’t get them in six and it goes to seven, it’s going to be tough for them to beat Boston at home. I just said, Boston to me, they’re really good, [but] they’re not as battle-tested as they should be. They live and die by the three. Porzingis played well tonight, I don’t know if he can keep that up.”
Green added that the start of the third quarter where the Mavericks cut the deficit from 20 to eight was a more accurate indicator of how the series would pan out rather than the first quarter, where the Boston raced to a 17-point lead.
The veteran guard added that he trusted Doncic and Irving more than Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to make shots late in the fourth quarter, and is consequently backing the Mavericks to win the series.
Expecting Dallas to beat the Celtics four times in the next five games is a bold take. That said, anything can happen in the NBA.
