In the NBA Finals, Celtics and Mavs face different challenges than the one they just conquered

Each NBA playoff series is a distinct event, with no real point of continuity between the end of one and the beginning of another.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, for example, defeated the defending champion Denver Nuggets, but that didn't automatically make them kings of the hill; A series against the Dallas Mavericks in the next round posed an entirely different set of challenges, and one the Timberwolves' roster was much less capable of handling. Similarly, the Indiana Pacers' valiant fight against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals tells us almost nothing about what might happen to Boston in a series against Dallas; Aside from a propensity to employ Rick Carlisle, Indiana and Dallas could hardly be less similar.

That's crucial knowledge we need to retain in the coming days, as we look at every possible angle in our long break before the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks begin on June 6. Dallas has won six of its last seven games, capped by its elimination. of Minnesota on Thursday, while Boston won 12 of 14 with a double-digit scoring margin.

However, using those games as a point of prediction for what could happen in the NBA Finals is a fatal mistake: the matchup for both teams will be completely different from the one they faced in the previous round. In that sense, it's probably good that Dallas and Boston have a few days off to recalibrate. The formula to win in the next round will be radically different.

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Take the Celtics, who just finished a series against one of the most extreme teams in basketball and now need to adjust to a very different type of team on both ends. The Pacers' defensive approach, in particular, is nearly 180 degrees from Dallas'. The Pacers allowed the fewest 3-point attempts in the league this season and were more than willing to allow shots at the rim as long as they closed the 3-point line.

While they did this part imperfectly against the Celtics (Boston still shot 43 3-pointers per game in the conference finals, right in line with their season totals), it's still a radically different approach than what Dallas did in their three. playoff rounds. The Mavs tried to protect the basket at all costs with rim protectors Derek Lively II and Daniel Gafford, limiting their opponents to just 50.2 percent shooting from two in the playoffs heading into Game 5 against Minnesota.

The Mavs didn't allow a lot of 3-pointers overall, but there was a certain type they were willing to give up: pick-and-pop 3-pointers from opposing centers. The Clippers and Wolves didn't have the starting personnel to hurt them here, but Dallas let Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams shoot for the Thunder (42 attempts in six games), while Minnesota backup Naz Reid had 25 attempts. triples in 132 minutes in the conference finals.

Needless to say, this is a very questionable strategy to pursue against the Celtics if Kristaps Porziņģis is healthy (he is expected to return for the NBA Finals). Porziņģis shot 37.5 percent from 3-point range this season on more than six attempts per game, and many of his attempts are from several yards beyond the 3-point line. In fact, Boston big man Al Horford won 41.9 percent.

Dallas is not the only team that has faced this problem. Keeping rim protectors close to the rim has been a vexing issue for Boston's opponents all season, one that has seen multiple original but unsuccessful solutions. Golden State, for example, tried to put Draymond Green on Jaylen Brown, keep Green in the paint and challenge Brown to shoot 3-pointers in a March game. Brown hit five 3-pointers in the first seven minutes and was on pace to break Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record before the Warriors reconsidered his decision.

I was at that game, and my column that weekend delves into the unique dilemmas presented by Boston's shooting superiority at every position. The short version: Teams that struggle to make 3-pointers and live with basketball attacks, like Indiana, are the only ones who have a chance against the Celtics. Sure, the Pacers gave up points, but they also beat Boston twice in the regular season and left them in the thick of it in Game 1 of the conference finals before fate intervened… with a late 3-pointer.

Dallas, on the other hand, was a middling team in preventing opponent three-pointers and has returned to playing that way in the playoffs. The Mavs' big conundrum is figuring out how to twist a defensive strategy that was nearly optimal for playing the Clippers, Thunder and Wolves and adapt it to play a very different Boston team. Recent events do not bode well on that front; When the Mavs arrived in Boston with all their new trade pieces in March, they lost 138-110, with Boston making 21 of 43 3-pointers.

The Celtics, however, have some adjustments to make. While Indiana threw the ball at every possible opportunity with whoever had the rock, Dallas plays a much slower, heliocentric style. Yes, the Mavs will run opportunistically, but compared to playing the Pacers, it will be like going from a techno rave to Gregorian chants.

Additionally, Dallas' player is arguably the best offensive player in the league, and he's operating against a defense that essentially has one weakness: not being able to switch between five positions. We saw how that worked for Minnesota, the league's top-ranked defense. Can the Celtics really survive a drop-coverage series against Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving for more than 40 minutes? Or do they need to feel uncomfortable?

While the Celtics have more options on their roster (perhaps they could put Porziņģis in Derrick Jones Jr. to switch against Dallas' pick-and-roll game with Lively and Gafford, for example) and two All-Defense guards in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, Dončić has seen and understood every coverage.

Obviously, there's a lot more to unpack here: Porziņģis and Irving's revenge series! Luka's first NBA Finals! Jayson Tatum's chance at redemption! Thoughts on the Grant Williams era! We'll have plenty of time to address it all, but it almost seems like a relief that these teams have a intermezzo before this final round. Each one will need it for a complete tactical renewal.

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(Photo by Luka Dončić and Al Horford: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)