The Dallas Mavericks have followed a winding road over the last 13 years that now finds them back in the NBA Finals facing off against the Boston Celtics.
The latter, the start to finish best team in the league this year. The former, the hottest team since the trade deadline.
The storylines that connect players to their opponent are well-trod, and will certainly add a layer of intrigue to the series.
But the finals figure to be a clashing of philosophy and styles, of playmaking and suffocating defense.
As we have each round, we’ll take a look at the position groups and the corresponding schemes and eventual adjustments they’ll be making in the weeks ahead.
First we took a look at the guard breakdown in the series, and what might be required of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Now we move to the wings and the core of the Celtics’ strengths, and how the Mavericks might face them.
Dallas Mavericks
The tandem of PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr. have had moments of stardom on both ends of the floor. Their defense is something we’ve quickly come to expect, but their flashes of offensive impact is what has turned the Mavericks into a full fledge contender. This is Jones fourth season in the playoffs, the other three seasons in very minimal roles — those three seasons combined Jones attempted 22 three-pointers (7-of-22). This run? He’s 21-of-53, just at 40-percent. And Washington had full games against the Oklahoma City Thunder where he carried the scoring load for the team, and time and again even on quiet nights he’s hit dagger clutch threes. Not bad for a young player making his first playoff appearance.
The Celtics have to this point mostly “stayed home” in defending the pick-and-roll, which the Mavericks rely on heavily on offense. Whether it’s playing a two-man game all the way into the lane, or leveraging it open up three-point attempts, this is where the Mavericks are most effective. Since Boston usually does not help off shooters, Washington and Jones will need to find other ways of being open. I would expect Dallas to use them both in standard pick-and-rolls as the screener to pop or short roll, or using them as the second screener in spain actions as they did against the Minnesota Timberwolves. How effective those two are playing off those actions may determine how much is at Dallas’ disposal on offense.
