The atmosphere was relaxed during the Mavericks' training late Saturday morning on the floor of TD Garden in Boston. Loud music, shooting contests, big smiles, Jason Kidd's men turned the page on a Game 1 where they were outrageously dominated by the Celtics.
This is not a new situation for the Mavs. On the contrary… With the exception of Game 1 in Minnesota during the last round, they had always lost the first game of their other series before winning Game 2 away. Against the Clippers, they lost Game 1 by 12 points, and won Game 2 by 3. Against the Thunder, they lost Game 1 by 22 points, and won the next game by 9.
Their 18-point defeat on the night of Thursday to Friday therefore does not cause them to panic. The next day, they began their preparation for Game 2 by watching the video of the first meeting to understand what they needed to change. The first adjustment was easy to identify.
“We have to make them uncomfortable from the start of the match. During Game 1, we took too long to get into the match” explained rookie Derek Lively II. “We should have attacked them first, instead of taking on the role of the attacked. »
The defensive withdrawal, the loss of balls…
This observation was obvious to everyone who saw the first match. The Mavs did not hesitate to explain that the nerves and pressure of the Finals against a Boston team which is not in its first rodeo contributed to their poor first quarter. They will have to show a completely different face in Game 2, especially on defense.
“We have to force them to play inside the 3-point line, that was the main message of our video session,” Daniel Gafford told us. “And then, be more diligent in our defensive withdrawal and not lose as many balls. »
The Celtics took 42 3-point shots for 16 successes compared to only 7/27 for Dallas. The Mavericks will either have to imitate their opponents' shooting percentage or reduce their shooting volume to have a chance of winning Game 2.
“With the exception of the first quarter, we had a good match,” believes PJ Washington, wanting to be reassuring but also critical of his team's performance. “They scored seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, many of them in transition. This is unacceptable at this time of year. We have to get out better on their shooters to contest their shots. We gave them too many open shots in Game 1. That said, there was improvement in the second half. I think they were 5/15, that's the type of percentage you want. We have to do a better job of forcing them to take the shots we want them to take. »
Better defend one-on-one
It will start by holding one-on-one matches. During Game 1, the Celtics systematically beat their opponent to attack the circle, force help, and come out on open shooters. Gafford and Lively struggled but so did Luka Doncic, targeted by Boston's game plan.
The Mavericks can help their defense, however, by being more disciplined on offense as well. Joe Mazzulla had decided to defend Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in one-on-one or by switching on all screens so as not to compromise his defensive base. Dallas wasted a lot of time, playing slowly, to find the solution. They never found their rhythm against a defense that eliminated the alley-oop and 3-pointers in the corners from their repertoire. Result: only nine assists, including one for Luka Doncic.
So we asked PJ Washington how the other three Dallas players can help Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving when the Mavs are defended like this.
“We need to be more precise in the way we attack, targeting the person we want to attack, starting our possessions quicker, but also giving Luka and Kyrie more space,” details the pivot of Dallas. “They are great players and we expect them to put out crazy performances every night but we also have to do our job to put them in the best possible conditions. After all, it's nothing very complicated. It's even the opposite, we have to keep our game as simple as possible. »
Daniel Gafford and Derek Lively II also admitted that the Boston defense succeeded in this first match in taking the Mavericks out of their comfort zone. The rookie, however, wanted to be confident before Game 2.
“We fell into the trap of playing the way they wanted us to play. We have to play our game and we have to force them to be in rotation to be able to create open shots,” he told us. “They switched to all the screens and that eliminated our alley-oops, but it's not the first time we've played against this kind of defense. We know how to attack this type of defense, and I think we will be able to play our game in the next match. »
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