Dallas Mavericks (26-25) at Boston Celtics (36-15) Game #52 2/6/25

In a new match for last year’s NBA finalsThe Dallas Mavericks Visit Boston Celtics. This is the second and last meeting between these two teams this season. Boston won the first game over the short-handed Mavericks in Dallas 122-107. Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. They also won the final over Dallas 4-1. Celtics are 48-39 gathered all the time against Dallas and 27-16 in games played in Boston.

Celtics is pretty much the same team that played in last year’s final as they held their core together. They traded Jaden jumping to Houston before the trade deadline. Mavericks look a bit like the team that Celtics faced in the NBA final. In the off -season, they lost Derrick Jones, JR, who was a big factor for them in the final. They also lost Tim Hardaway, JR and Josh Green. They added Klay Thompson, Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie.

Now, on the way into the trade deadline, Mavericks has made a few more features. The first movement shocked the entire NBA as they traded Luka Doncic to Anthony Davis. Davis has been out with an abdominal muscle tribe since January 28, but can play his first game as a maverick against Celtics. Max Christie also joined Mavs in the trade. Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber both left Mavs. Their second step was to trade Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin.

Celtics remains 2. In the East. After their victory on Tuesday, the 4.5 games are behind 1st place Cleveland. They are 2 matches in front of 3rd place New York and 7 matches in front of 4th place Indiana. They are 16-9 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 matches. They are 10-6 to Western Conference Opportunities. They have won their last 4 matches.

Mavericks is 11 in the West, 14.5 matches behind 1st place Oklahoma City. They are 2.5 games behind both 6th spaces. They are tied with 8th place Sacramento, 9th place Phoenix and 10th place Golden State. 3 games in front of 12. Place San Antonio. They are 12-15 on the road and 4-6 in their last 10 games. They are 7-8 against the Eastern Conference team and have lost their last 3 matches.

Celtics is home after a 3 game road trip. They began the trip with a 2-point victory over the short-handed pelicans and then came from 26 points to beat 76ers At 8th. Finally, the first place beat Cavaliers at.

Dallas plays in the last game on a 5 game road trip. They beat New Orleans to start the trip and then lost to Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia in the next 3 games on the trip. After this game, they will have a 4 game home against Houston, Sacramento, Golden State and Miami. After the All Star -Pause they will play at home against New Orleans and then in Golden State and a big match against LA Lakers.

After having a clear injury on Tuesday, Celtics has a post for this game. JUE Holiday is questionable due to a right shoulder impinging. He has struggled recently and hit 38.2 percent off the field over his last nine games. If JRUE is not able to play, I would expect either Sam Hauser or Luke Kornet to start and Derrick White should slip into the Point Guard site.

For Mavericks, Dereck Lively is out with a break in his right foot. Caleb Martin was out with a hip injury when he was traded for Mavericks and will remain out for this game. Dwight Powell is out with a hip damage. PJ Washington is out for personal reasons. Anthony Davis was originally questionable due to an abdominal strain. He attended the court’s training on Tuesday and Wednesday and the slider around Thursday, but is expected to miss this game.

Probable Celtics -starters

Celtics reserves
Luke the grain
Payton Pritchard
Neemiah Queta
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Xavier Tillman, Sr.
Jordan Walsh
Al Horford

2 -vejs players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson

Damage/out
JRUE Holiday (shoulder) questionable

Head coach
Joe Mazzulla

Probable Mavericks -starters

Mavericks reserves
Max Christie
Spencer Dinwiddie
Jaden Hardy
Naji Marshall
Olivier-Maxence Prosper

2 -vejs players
Kessler Edwards
Kylor Kelley
Brandon Williams

Damage/out
Derck Lively II (foot) out
Dwight powell (hip) out
Caleb Martin (hip) out
PJ Washington (personal) out
Anthony Davis (stomach) out

Head coach
Jason Kidd

Key matchups

JRUE Holiday vs Kyrie Irving
Irving is an average of 24.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 stealing per day. Match. He shoots 48.1% from the field and 41.1% beyond the arch. He always has extra motivation to play against his previous team. If JRUE is not able to play, we can see Derrick White matched with Kyrie on the Point Guard. Celtics has to defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter because he is a threat of scoring from both.

JAYLEN BROWN VS KLAY THOMPSON
Thompson Average 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per Match. He shoots 41.1 from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arch. Against Boston this season he had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. He shot 50% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arch. Although Thompson was not the player he once was, he is still able to have a big game if he is not open.

Honest publicity
Kristaps porzingis vs daniel gafford
Gafford is an average of 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.8 blocks per day. Match. He shoots 69.9% from the field and 0% from beyond the arch. Porzingis needs to pull him away from the basket as he is an edge protector and a good rebounder. They also have to keep him out of the paint as he is automatic when he comes to the basket.

Keys for the game
Defense – Defense is always the first key to winning games. There is no true statement than “Defense wins championships.” The MAVs are an average of 115.3 points per Match (11.), while Celtics average 117.2 points per Battle (5.). The MAVs are 14. With a defensive rating of 113.2, while Celtics is 5. With a defensive rating of 109.6. When Celtics fights against offense they have in recent matches, they must be able to prevent the other team from scoring. Celtics has to prioritize prioritizing in this and every game.

Rebound – Secondly for defense, rebounding is the key to winning. One of the few times I’ve agreed with Pat Riley was when he said “no rebounds, no rings.” Much of rebounding is efforts and Celtics has to make an extra effort to win the battle of the boards. When they work hard on the boards, it usually follows the rest of the game as well. Celtics are an average of 44.8 rebounds per day. Battle (11.), while the stomachs average 44.9 rebounds per Fight (10.). Celtics has to put extra efforts on the boards to prevent Mavs from getting extra belongings and second chance points and to give the same to himself.

Move the ball gently – Celtics has to move the ball to find the best shot on each possession. When the ball adheres and the players try to do too much, Celtics fights. They are best when they pass the ball and keep it moving. They are 16-0 when they have 30 ore more assists and they are 26-1 when they have more assists than their opponents. But they have to make careful passports and do not get slack and turn the ball over. Celtics need to move the ball and can’t be caught by playing Hero Ball.

Be aggressive – Celtics should be the more aggressive team. They must be aggressive in walking in the basket, diving after loose balls and in defense. They must aggressively go down on the boards. They have to be the team that wants to win the game more. In most of their losses, they have allowed their opponents to play harder and be more aggressive. They definitely can’t let Mavericks play harder than those if they want a chance to win.

X-factors
Home after a walk – The first game at home after a trip is always a tough match. Despite being home with the crowd behind him, Celtics has lost their last 2 games played at home after road trips. Mavericks will be on the road and can be short -handed or they can get energy by adding Anthony Davis. Either way, Celtics needs to get motivation from the home crowd and defend their home ground.

Officially – The official can always be an X-Factor. Each crew calls the game a little differently and teams have to adapt to how the game is called. Will they call the game tight or will they let them play? Celtics cannot let the officials remove their focus and they have to adapt to the way the judges call it. Celtics have to play hard and build a lead and not let the judges remove the game on some bad calls at the end.

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