Is this it? If so, I really appreciate all of you guys who read NBA Matchups. You guys know it takes me a lot of time to write these, but it also takes a lot of time for you guys to read them and I really am so thankful to so many of you for taking the time out of your lives to try to learn more about the game and the stats that can drive bets/outcomes. Maybe Dallas can get one and we’ll be back on Monday!
Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks
Team Totals: Celtics 106, Mavs 105
Injury Report: Kristaps Porzingis (Q, ankle), Luka Doncic (P, chest)
Mavericks projected starters: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Jones Jr., P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford
Celtics projected starters: Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford
Offensive Ranks: Mavericks 8th, Celtics 1st
Defensive Ranks: Mavericks 17th, Celtics 3rd
Kidd quotes: Said he played 11 guys because they were trying to find someone to give them a spark, said he liked how some of the bench guys played especially in the third, said Lively was “great” and he was telling all of the guys they can win the game, said Luka “has a bullseye on his chest” and the Celtics are hunting him, said Luka may have to rest on offense.
Mazzulla quotes: Said he trusts the next man up and it was Xavier Tillman in Game 3, said Jaylen has a “growth mindset” and he’s not afraid to take on his weaknesses, said it’s up to the medical staff to decide on KP.
Stats and Notes:
Rim points per game: Mavericks 20th, Celtics 19th
Rim points allowed per game: Mavericks 16th, Celtics 3rd
Catch and shoot points per game: Mavericks 17th, Celtics 1st
Catch and shoot points allowed per game: Mavericks 17th, Celtics 10th
PNR handler scoring per game: Mavericks 9th, Celtics 21st
PNR handler scoring allowed per game: Mavericks 15h, Celtics 25th
Transition scoring per game: Mavericks 8th, Celtics 9th
Transition scoring allowed per game: Mavericks 18th, Celtics 4th
*Well, the Luka Doncic foul out hurt and subbing in Tim Hardaway Jr. for him with 4:12 left might have been the game. We’ll talk more about that foul in a bit, but let’s go over some big trends from the game. The Mavs looked like they had the game after what looked like another Celtics 4Q meltdown, but Boston made just enough plays to get the win. Looking at the whole game, the Celtics did it again with C&S stuff at 39-12 in Game 3. That gets the season series to 101-30 in the C&S game. My god, man. On the flip side, the Mavs have 23.0 isolation possessions per game in this series after a season-high 34 in Game 3. In previous series, the Mavs averaged 14.7 per game against the Clippers, 7.8 against OKC, and 8.8 against the Wolves. It’s just not even fair how much the Celtics are winning the shot-quality game. On the positive side, the Mavs did basically draw even in transition points and Dallas won the rim-points battle 41-28. The Mavs just didn’t create enough shots off passes with 15 dimes. For the whole season prior to the NBA Finals, the Mavs had been below 15 dimes in a game just once (Clippers Game 1). I’m just beating a dead horse. The Mavs have to figure out how to score 100 points and that’s really the only thing they should focus on for Game 4.
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