Here’s an astonishing fact to kick off your week: none of the current players on the Celtics or Mavericks were even born when the 1986 NBA Finals began on May 26, 1986.
Why is this date significant? The 1986 NBA Finals marked the last occasion the Celtics entered the championship round as the betting favorites. Breaking a 38-year streak, the Celtics now head into the 2024 NBA Finals as the favorites against the Mavericks.
There have been debates suggesting that the Celtics should have been the favorites in their Finals matchups against the Lakers in 2008 and the Warriors in 2022. In 2008, they boasted a 66-win season compared to the Lakers’ 57 wins and featured a well-rounded team led by Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo.
In 2022, they dominated the second half of the season with the league’s top-ranked defense and led the Warriors 2-1 in the Finals before Stephen Curry’s remarkable performance turned the series around.
Does being the favorites increase the pressure on the Celtics to succeed? Head coach Joe Mazzulla has downplayed the notion that his team is superior to the Mavericks.
“Everyone is a favorite to somebody. It comes down to the same thing – once you get rid of the fact that you’re playing in the Finals, playing for a chance to win, it comes down to rebounding, transition defense, offensive execution, knowing your personnell, situational basketball. It’s very simple. While it’s simple, it doesn’t mean it’s not overly hard to do,” Mazzulla told.
Regardless of Mazzulla’s perspective, one thing is clear: the Celtics are facing the highest expectations entering an NBA Finals in decades. Unlike in 2022, when they faced a seasoned champion in the Warriors, the Celtics will this time be up against a Mavericks team that missed the postseason entirely last year.
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