While the Dallas Mavericks appeared to be fan favorites heading into the NBA Finals, their difficulties appear to be far from over. The Mavericks are down 2-0 in the series after dropping Game 2 tonight in Boston. And it appears like five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson has identified where the club is struggling against the Boston Celtics, a franchise with a long relationship with the LA Lakers star.
Considering Johnson outperformed the Celtics, which had prime Larry Bird on it, in multiple Finals, the Mavs could definitely use some advice from the 12x All-Star. “The Mavs are doing too much standing around and watching Luka and Kyrie go one on one. If they want to win, they need more ball movement and to start pushing the pace to get more easy buckets!” Johnson posted on X.
Notably, Doncic had a triple-double in Game 2 against the Celtics. With this, he became the youngest player in NBA history to have a 30-point triple-double in the Finals. However, the remainder of the roster has not provided significant backing for the 25-year-old. Although all five Mavs starters scored in double digits in Game 2, they combined for 1-of-11 from three-point range.
According to LandofBasketball.com, only 7.4% of NBA teams have ever come back from a 0-2 disadvantage in the playoffs. In the Finals, only five teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit. So, while the odds appear to be stacked against the Mavericks, there are still chances. The least the Mavs can do now is follow Johnson’s advice and execute a more impactful collective performance.
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