The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks will take the floor on Thursday night for the first game of the NBA Finals.
Joe Mazzulla has had more than enough time to watch film and design his game plan for the big game.
However, there’s that key aspect that many fans are still debating about, and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson just brought it to light.
The legendary point guard took to Twitter to wonder whether Mazzulla would put his best on-ball defender, Jrue Holiday, on Kyrie Irving or Luka Doncic.
Celtics’ Coach Mazzulla has an important decision to make – Will he put his best on-ball defender Jrue Holiday on Kyrie or Luka? ?
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 3, 2024
At first glance, one would think that he’d put Holiday on Kyrie because Doncic is much bigger.
Also, what works in Game 1 may not work throughout the course of the series, especially considering the fact that Jason Kidd has been quite good at making adjustments during the playoffs.
One of the many challenges that come with guarding Luka Doncic has to do with his size, as he’s not the prototypical point guard, and most backcourt defenders can’t size him up or body him up as they would do with other guards.
The Celtics are one of the few teams with enough stoppers to make life difficult for him, as there’s no such thing as shutting him down.
And whether Holiday or Brown will be primarily in charge of defending him or Kyrie, it’ll take a huge team effort to keep one of the most talented duos of all time in check.
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