Table of Contents
Despite clawing within two with just about a minute to go in the game, the Mavericks were unable to overcome Boston's 21-point fourth quarter lead, putting the Celtics just one win away from the NBA title.
Luka Doncic had an excellent view as Boston put the game away after fouling out on a questionable call with 4:12 left in the game, though he had already been a bystander on defense for most of the game.
The Celtics have been doomed by late-game errors and miscues for years, so to have the biggest crunch time stretch of this series altered heavily by removing one of the best clutch scorers in the league was a tough blow for Dallas and the neutrals. Boston, however, will see it as a deserved outcome of a persistent effort to put Doncic in the crosshairs.
With no such vulnerabilities for the Mavs to exploit on the other end, the Celtics have comfortably controlled proceedings on both ends of the floor in this series and seem deserving of being called "champions" soon.
Here are my three takeaways from Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
Losing The Hardaway
In a game and series defined by some big picture schematic designs and strong individual performances from the four superstar players involved, I want to start with the peripheral decisions that can decide a Finals game just as much as the headline grabbing stuff.
With Dallas down 0-2, Jason Kidd was desperate for an unforeseen variable to present itself, for 11 different Mavs seeing the floor in the first half. Dante Exum, Jaden Hardy and Maxi Kleber all had brief stints (none played more than eight minutes), and starters Derrick Jones Jr. and Daniel Gafford both only played 16 minutes. This meant that the two players who joined the quartet of players Kidd is most comfortable with at the moment (Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington and Dereck Lively) as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green.
Green played well, offering a blend of athleticism, 3-point shooting and aggression as a slasher. He was a plus-3 in 22 minutes. Hardaway Jr. did not play well. In fact, he was the worst player on the court.
Hardaway Jr. played 19 minutes, finished a game-worst minus-16 and scored 0 points on 0-of-5 shooting. THJ hasn't made a field goal since May 18th in Game 6 of the Oklahoma City series, and even then he was already on his way out of the rotation. Hardaway Jr. has only played 19 or more minutes two other times in this postseason, and he didn't play at all in the final three games against Minnesota or in Game 2 of this series.
You can't fault Kidd for tinkering and looking for something. The Mavs didn't lose Games 1 and 2 because of variance or decision-making; Boston has thrown a tactical haymaker that Dallas' best personnel groupings aren't equipped to counter. So throwing some different names into the rotation in the first Finals game in Dallas since 2011 was understandable. Home environments typically beget the best out of role players, and the Mavs desperately needed someone to change the equation in what has been an analytically-driven rout.
But to go to the drawing board in between Games 2 and 3 and decide that Hardaway Jr. was the answer? That is indefensible. It's worth pointing out that Hardaway Jr. was injured when the playoffs began and that he has, at times, been a useful bench scorer for this Mavericks team. But the way the Cs have relentlessly attacked Dallas' weak spots defensively should have given Kidd pause before putting THJ on the floor as much as they did.
What's worse is that, once Doncic picked up his sixth foul with 4:12 left in regulation, Kidd inserted THJ for the remainder of the game. After a furious 20-2 run to get back in it, Dallas lost the final segment of the game by four points with Hardaway Jr. on the floor. And if you zoom in on those key possessions down the stretch, Hardaway stands out for all the wrong reasons.
Joe Mazzulla manufactured advantageous situations for Boston all night with the way he manipulated Dallas' low man by putting certain players in the dunker spot/corner. You can see here how Dallas is aware that the Cs want Kyrie as the weakside helper, so he and THJ exchange positions. But even though Hardaway Jr. is a little bigger than Irving, the swap doesn't accomplish much.
With Jones Jr. or Kleber in the game, perhaps there would have been a little more solidity at the rim, but THJ offers no resistance as the help defender on Tatum's drive and is on the floor while Brown finishes off an easy putback. Dallas is already forced to work so hard to cover up for its best player's defensive flaws; Kidd cannot put additional pressure on his defense by inserting another obvious target on the floor in such a crucial situation.
On this possession, Boston is looking for Hardaway Jr. again, and this time they are able to get the ball to Jrue Holiday against him in a corner isolation. Giving up a baseline blow by in this spot is unforgivable, and the Mavs compound THJ's poor defense by failing to help-the-helper. Irving meets Holiday at the rim as the first line of help, so Lively slides down to Brown in the corner, but Washington doesn't cover for him, leaving Derrick White open for a dagger three.
And finally, the Celtics picked on Hardaway Jr. again for what might be Brown's Finals MVP-clinching shot. You can see White waving Holiday out of the picture here as adding additional bodies into the fray would just muck up what Boston wants to be a simple possession: A Brown ISO against THJ.
To Brown's credit, he makes a tough mid-ranger over a contest, but sometimes when you are a bad defender, you instill confidence in the guy with the ball just because of your reputation. Brown had no reservations about shooting over Hardaway Jr. and he all but sealed a ring by doing so.
In contrast to Kidd's costly decision to stick with Hardaway Jr. for so long, Mazzulla's use of Xavier Tillman in place of the injured Kristaps Porzingis was a tactical masterstroke.
Porzingis has missed the majority of the postseason, so Boston has a lot of experience playing without him, but Mazzulla hasn't ever settled on a definitive look without Porzingis in the lineup. He has often switched up which reserve big he's used on a game-by-game basis; some nights it was Luke Kornet, others it was Tillman, and even Oshae Brissett has had some important stretches in the postseason.
Tillman was the perfect choice in this situation. Although the most important change with Porzingis out was to bump up Al Horford's playing time, Tillman's 11 minutes were crucial. In his first playing time of the series, Tillman was able to execute Boston's switch-heavy scheme to great effect, getting multiple stops guarding Luka one-on-one.
Mazzulla said that Tillman's time in the Western Conference as a Grizzlie and his experience guarding in a similar defensive scheme were the factors that convinced him Tillman was the right choice. And just as Dallas thought they could at least ignore the defensive specialist on the other end, Tillman made a big corner 3 to push the led to 15 late in the third quarter. Boston's belief in itself and each other is one of the team's defining traits, which Tillman's Game 3 performance illustrated beautifully.
You might be wondering how the Celtics acquired Tillman. Well, they got him in February for the price of Lamar Stephens and two second-round picks. As if Brad Stevens' clearance shopping to build out Boston's starting five wasn't enough, there he was grabbing a 10th man who would fill in seamlessly in one of the most individually challenging defensive matchups in the sport to help swing a Finals game and all but finish off the series like he was a free sample at the mall food court.
But it isn't all about the general manager's moves, though. Mazzulla had to have the trust and understanding to put Tillman in a position to succeed. Despite a relatively positive postseason making such decisions, Kidd failed miserably in the biggest moments of the Finals and drastically hurt his team's chances of making this a competitive series.
Doncic's Downfall
I'll start by saying that Doncic's sixth foul was egregious given the circumstances. Context has to matter in that spot, and the fact that the refs had a chance to reverse the decision when the Mavs challenged the call and didn't just makes it worse.
Look, it could be a defensive foul. It could have been an offensive foul. It should have been a no-call. I can understand a ref seeing that as a foul on Luka and not considering that it would be his sixth in the heat of the moment. But then you have to change the call during the review and not completely deflate the final four minutes of the most decisive game of the season by fouling out one of the best closers in the sport in his home building. I'm not saying it is impossible for Luka to foul out of a big game just because he is good, but he simply can't foul out on that play.
And that's as defensive as I can be regarding Luka's Game 3, which is more defensive than he was on the court.
Kidd is trying everything in an attempt to protect his superstar from Boston's incessant, almost rude, bullying. The Mavs tried zones to keep Doncic at the top of the key with support behind him when the ball inevitably got past him, they tried putting Gafford and Lively on whoever was filling the weakside corner and exchanging responsibilities on the fly to keep them there so they could be ready to help on the rim. It just hasn't mattered. The Celtics are hunting Doncic on every possession, and Luka has played some of the worst defense you will ever see.
Doncic started the fourth quarter with two fouls, a result of barely getting in the way when Boston attacked him off the dribble. Unfortunately, his attempt to ramp up his intensity on that end led to four cheap fouls in quick succession. While I disagree with the sixth foul, Doncic put himself in a position to foul out, and considering the Cs diligence in attacking him, his disqualification became a matter of when, not if.
Obviously, some of the rage Doncic is expressing toward the officials is seeded in the way his defense is getting exposed. It is a way to redirect his shame. And you can understand part of his frustration, because the level of physicality that is permitted when the Celtics are guarding him is significantly higher than the physicality he is allowed to show in response. Nonetheless, Luka's petulant attitude has always been his Achilles' heel, even more so than his woeful defense, and having a tantrum in the biggest moment of the season threatens to dampen what has been a magnificent postseason run.
I just referred to Doncic one of the game's best closers, and that's true. Just ask Minnesota, or Phoenix, or the Clippers. But in the three fourth quarters he has played in these Finals, he is 3-of-15 from the field and 0-of-4 from 3 for 8 total points. Even with those paltry numbers, it does feel like we were robbed of a dramatic close to Game 3 once Luka fouled out. Instead we got a Tim Hardaway Jr. disasterclass.
Doncic is averaging 30-6-6 against Boston and it feels like he has had an underwhelming series, a testament to the unbelievably high standards he has set for himself. He deserves some slack for the litany of injuries he is playing through, which helps explain why Boston has had a much easier time containing him one-on-one than Minnesota did. But the defensive effort, or lack thereof, is inexcusable.
Dallas can only hope that this series will serve as a lesson for Luka that champions compete on both ends, and that he will have to evolve a lot as a player and a person to cover up the scar that this series will leave on his reputation. But the wait for redemption often takes several years, if that opportunity ever comes at all.
After losing to the Heat in the 2006 Finals, Mavs legend and Doncic's former teammate Dirk Nowitzki endured five years of being labeled "soft" and a "choker" before he got revenge on Miami in 2011. Luka's coach Jason Kidd was a footnote in a pair of dynastic runs at the start of the new millennium before carving out a smaller role on the '11 Mavs in his 17th season. Doncic has gone one step further than Steve Nash, who was in attendance at Game 3, ever did in his career, but the empty space in Nash's trophy cabinet is a reminder that even the most brilliant players can be bereft of the game's ultimate prize.
Boston, on the other hand, can still feel the Stephen Curry's sting on its wounds, and the growth the Celtics' core players have shown since their last Finals appearance is a good example of how much better Doncic will have to be should he ever make it back to this stage.
What Brown Can Do For You
There was a considerable amount of surprise when Jaylen Brown was named the Eastern Conference Finals MVP instead of Jayson Tatum. There will be no surprise if Brown receives the Finals MVP trophy; the only shock might be if Tatum is second in the voting ahead of Jrue Holiday.
Brown's numbers aren't eye-popping - 24 points per game on 55/25/70 shooting splits, 6 assists a night but also 4 turnovers - but he has been Boston's most consistent two-way performer and his work in Game 3 (30-8-8 on 12-of-22 shooting) was his best of the series. Given the Cs balanced approach, you have to grade on a curve and give a little more weight to the contributions that have come in the big moments, and Brown has taken on that responsibility and delivered throughout this series.
I've discussed Tatum's subtle and effective contributions during these Finals, but subtle and effective isn't the threshold for taking home Finals MVP. Brown has been more consistent offensively and a monster defensively, making him the prime candidate for the award. And it was Brown who nailed the signature shot of the series with just over a minute left in Game 3.
A Finals MVP for Brown would be somewhat poetic given Kidd's comments earlier in the series. Kidd might have meant to incite internal turmoil rather than an intelligible debate, but it's certainly a topic worthy of discussion. And an argument for Brown wouldn't be about tearing down Tatum, but rather praising Boston for building a team with two homegrown, interchangeable Finals MVP candidates.
It's a construct that should ignite an interesting philosophical debate in regards to team building. Heliocentrism and egalitarianism have been at odds for more than a decade now, and this Finals is a meeting of two teams that define each model. The thing that makes Boston different from its democratic predecessors is the lack of an undisputed top-five player. Apart from the 2014 Spurs, the championship teams that leaned closer to the collective ethos were still spearheaded by all-time greats at the peak of their powers (the Steph Warriors and Kawhi Leonard's Raptors in 2019).
This series was to decide which approach was more conducive to winning a championship: Having an otherworldly, high-volume offensive initiator who needs protection defensively or a pair of All-Star caliber offensive players who aren't quite as well-rounded but make up for their lesser efficiency and playmaking with good-to-great defense.
But even as the Celtics have taken a commanding lead 3-0, I don't think we have an answer. Instead, I think we've learned that no matter what your superstar situation is, the team with the deeper, more versatile supporting cast is going to have the upper hand.
If Dallas was going to win this series, Doncic was the only realistic candidate for Finals MVP. With Boston one win away from a title, three or four different players could take home the award without much fuss. And so, after years of Big Threes and gaudy averages in MVP races, the lesson might just be that basketball is still played five-on-five, and the team with the most complete five-man unit is best equipped to win it all.
