Luka Doncic calls Celtics 'best team in NBA' ahead of Finals – Basketball Insiders

After the Mavericks finally advanced to the NBA Finals with their Game 5 victory over the Timberwolves this past weekend, star player Luka Doncic was asked about facing his first opportunity to win the Larry O'Brien trophy. This is also Dallas' only third time in the playoffs.

The reporter started by asking him what he thought of Boston and what came to his mind first when he thought of this intense clash. The guard then expressed his humility before the competition.

“They are the best team in the NBA. They had the best record,” he confirmed this weekend. “They have amazing weapons offensively and defensively, so we're going to have to play tough and awesome basketball to beat them.”

How can the Celtics beat Luka Doncic and the Mavs? Start with these 5 keys to the NBA Finals.

– Boston Herald Sports (@BosHeraldSports) June 4, 2024

The Mavs' success is largely attributed to their superstar between the Slovenian and Kyrie Irving, who gave Dallas offensive power with memorable scoring bursts throughout the playoffs.

Due to the excellent results of the two, Joe Mazzula who is the coach of the rivals does not believe that there is a strategy that can stop them. As we get closer to Game 1 of the Finals, scheduled for Thursday, he called the story that the series will come down to whether the Celtics can limit Luke and Kyrie.

“Everything is what people like to focus on,” the Boston strategist said last Saturday. “They don't see the game as a connected game. If those guys play well, they beat you. They don't look at your offense, your defense, your success, your secondary points or your execution on the offensive end.”

Mazzella believes that they must focus on playing the perfect game, not just defending them. “The whole series is about 'stopping those two guys,' there's no stopping them,” Joe explained. “There is protecting them at a high level and there is also playing a complete game because all parts of the game are connected.”

Celtics star Derrick White said his team will maintain its game plan as “nothing can stop” the Doncic-Irving duo.

Regardless of how Boston fares in these NBA Finals, one thing that is certain is that the team will not give up its entire strategy to stop Irving and Doncic. When he spoke to the media, Derrick White had the same idea as his coach about managing their opponents.

“We know they are high-level players,” said the guard. “There's really nothing stopping them. You are just trying to make it difficult for them. They will take heavy shots and they will hit hard shots. So, continuing to trust the gameplan, we hope that over 48 minutes what we do will work. “

While the Slovenian dropped 32.4 points and 8.4 assists per contest in their last series, Kyrie contributed 27 points per game. However, their greatest skill was to put on clutch performances day and night.

“There will be times where they hit three, four, five shots in a row, but you have to continue to trust the gameplan and what will work out over time,” added White.