The rankings of the top 15 players in the Celtics-Mavs NBA Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
With superstars on both sides, the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks could come down to which team has the best supporting cast.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are expected to star for Boston, just like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are for Dallas. They will all have their moments, but they are not the X-factors in this upcoming series.
The Celtics need Derrick White and Jrue Holiday to step up on offense while continuing to showcase their All-Defensive talents against one of the NBA’s best duos. They also hope to get Kristaps Porzingis back to full strength to add a rim protector and another dimension to the offense.
Dallas needs Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford to dominate Boston in the paint. Meanwhile, PJ Washington will be counted on to score consistently, and Derrick Jones Jr.’s defense will. against Tatum and Brown will be crucial.
There’s no shortage of impactful players in this series, so how do they all stack up? Here are 15 of the best players who will take the field in the final, ranked:
Hauser has made significant progress on both ends of the court during the regular season, but has gone ice cold in the playoffs. The 26-year-old went on an 0-for-10 3-point shooting skid in Game 4 against Indiana, finishing the series with a woeful 1-for-14 from deep. Now would be a good time for him to get back to his 42 percent three-point shooting form.
Green, 23, has been a solid 3-and-D bench wing for Dallas the past two seasons. The 18th overall pick in the 2020 draft has steadily improved over his first four years in the league, especially as a playmaker.
Don’t be fooled by these rankings. Pritchard can turn games in Boston’s favor thanks to his shooting ability and uncanny ability to pull down rebounds despite his size. The Oregon product provides an immediate spark with his energy off the bench and can be a difference maker in this series.
12. Daniel Gafford, Mavericks
When you hear pundits say the Celtics need a healthy Kristaps Porzingis to win this series, Gafford is one of the reasons why. The 25-year-old big man can dominate the paint on both ends with his ferocious dunks and excellent rim protection. Boston got into the paint at points during the Indiana series, and Dallas poses the same potential problem in the finals if Porzingis isn’t at his best.
11. Derrick Jones Jr., Mavericks
Jones signed a minimum one-year contract with Dallas during the offseason. He has proven to be one of the best free agent bargains.
The 27-year-old forward has been an unsung hero for the Mavs in these playoffs. In 17 postseason games, he averaged 9.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocks in 31.2 minutes. A great defender, he will play a crucial role for Dallas against Celtics superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
10. PJ Washington, Mavericks
Other than Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Washington is the only Mavs player averaging double figures this postseason. The former Kentucky standout has also performed noticeably better defensively since coming over from Charlotte. This series could very well come down to the supporting casts, making Washington a key role for Dallas as it looks to pull off the upset.
9. Dereck Lively II, Mavericks
Lively has flown under the radar this season as a sixth-place finisher in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting, but his presence has been impossible to ignore in these playoffs. The 20-year-old has given Dallas an additional threat in the paint with his rim protection and ability to finish offensively. He and Gafford could give the Celtics some problems during this series.
Horford, who turns 38 on Monday, will likely return to his sixth-man role when Porzingis returns. He stepped up in Porzingis’ absence during the conference finals, averaging 12.8 points while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor (39.3 percent from 3). When he’s shooting light from deep, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with this elite Celtics offense.
7. Jrue Holiday, Celtics
Holiday is a six-time All-Defensive Guard (a second-team selection this year) and won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. Boston’s prized offseason acquisition took a step back offensively with so many other scorers on the roster, but he is still a ruthless force on defense. The soon-to-be 34-year-old made multiple defensive plays against Indiana while averaging 18.5 points per game in the series. He will face his toughest test yet, keeping Doncic and Irving in check.
6. Derrick White, Celtics
A second-team All-Defense selection for back-to-back seasons, White has developed into one of Boston’s best all-around players since joining the San Antonio Spurs in 2022. The 29-year-old is the best shot blocker. guard in the league and is also a sensational 3-point shooter. All eyes will be on Tatum, Brown, Doncic and Irving, but White is an X-factor in this series.
5. Kristaps Porzingis, Celtics
Speaking of X-factors, Porzingis’ impending return from a calf injury is one of the biggest storylines in the series. While Boston hasn’t missed a beat in his absence, there’s no doubt they’re a different team when he’s in the starting lineup. The 7-foot-4 Latvian’s rim protection will be much needed, and if he picks up where he left off on offense, the Mavs will have their work cut out for them.
4. Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
Celtics fans know Irving all too well, who spent two tumultuous seasons in Boston from 2017 to 2019. It didn’t work out with the C’s or the Brooklyn Nets, but the eight-time All-Star seems reinvigorated by his opportunity to play as Luka Doncic’s sidekick in Dallas.
Irving averaged 22.8 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor (42.1 percent from 3) in the playoffs. His buy-in on the defensive end of the floor is a big reason why the Mavs have gotten to this point. He’ll be loudly booed when he returns to TD Garden on Thursday, but C fans may want to tread lightly and avoid poking the bear.
3. Jaylen Brown, Celtics
Brown earned Eastern Conference MVP honors after averaging 29.8 points on 51.7 percent shooting. His stellar performance was the perfect response to his All-NBA whiff, and you can be sure he will carry that extra motivation with him into the Finals. Brown is also playing the best defense of his career, making him one of the best two-way players in this series. His final defensive test against Doncic will be his toughest yet.
2. Jayson Tatum, Celtics
The Boston superstar averaged 26.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season. Tatum, a four-time All-NBA selection and five-time All-Star, will look to bounce back from his lackluster 2022 Finals performance against Golden State, when he shot just 36.7 percent from the floor. He’s at his best when he’s aggressively attacking the rim, so if he does that while shooting at a better clip from beyond the arc (29 percent in these playoffs), he’ll be the overwhelming favorite for Finals MVP.
1. Luka Doncic, Mavericks
Doncic has been unquestionably the best player in the playoffs and there’s an argument to be made that he deserved the 2023-24 NBA MVP award. The Slovenian star averaged 33.9 points per game in the regular season and 28.8 points per game in the postseason.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves had no answer for Doncic. Boston has two of the league’s best defensive guards in Holiday and White, and Brown prides himself on guarding the opponent’s best player all season, but even that may not be enough to keep the league’s deadliest scorer to limit.
