‘The Best Team in the NBA’: Luka Doncic Struck by the Celtics’ Balance

The Dallas Mavericks arrived at TD Garden having won eight of their last 10 games. They exited with a 28-point deficit.

The Boston Celtics held the seventh-highest-scoring offense in the NBA to 110 points, roughly nine below their season average of 118.8. At the other end, they generated 138, almost 15 more than the Indiana Pacers’ league-leading output of 123.6.

They’ve been bludgeoning opponents. Friday’s 138-110 victory is their tenth consecutive, the longest winning run in the Association in the 2023–24 campaign. The hosts have trounced adversaries by an average margin of 19.1 points throughout that time.

The team with the most skilled top six in the NBA has solutions for whatever’s thrown its way at either end of the court. The Celtics have the rarely-found talent of not needing to put two defenders on the ball, allowing them to avoid playing in rotation with a numerical disadvantage.

From Derrick White and Jrue Holiday to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, their point-of-attack defenders are placing pressure on opponent ball handlers equal to what free divers feel at the ocean’s depths.

And behind them is often a seven-foot-three rim protector. Even if he’s not there and one gets around the hoop, those covering the perimeter are good enough to recover to take care of that duty.

At the other end of the court, they’re taking and making the most threes, and Kristaps Porzingis is punishing switches. As the roll man, he’s producing 1.32 points per possession, the second-most, according to NBA.com. He’s even more lethal on post-ups, capitalizing on his size and touch, generating a league-leading 1.38 points per possession in those situations, according to NBA.com. Boston’s balance has Luka Doncic convinced the team he just went up against is the greatest in the NBA.

“That’s why they’re the No. 1 or No. 2 defense in the NBA,” stated the five-time All-Star following Friday’s setback. “They have offense and defense. I think that’s the best team in the NBA right now. And it’s challenging on both ends, for sure.”

Regarding the problem of guarding a team capable of playing five-out, whether it plays small or uses two bigs, the just-turned-25-year-old stated of the Celtics’ offense, “Everybody basically is a laser. Everybody can shoot. Everybody can make it, so it’s tough. It’s a different coverage than any previous games.”

Mavericks’ head coach Jason Kidd struck on one of the factors allowing Boston to use the advantages its talent offers: sacrifice.

“It’s about teamwork for them,” added Kidd. “You can see that with the ball movement. They’re not bothered about who is shooting it. In a lot of instances, the individual firing it is wide open.”

You can walk up and down the Celtics’ roster and pinpoint how they’re embracing a role that asks them to prioritize what’s best for the collective.

For Jayson Tatum, who recently opened up about the challenge of knowing he can score 30 every night but maintaining a steadfast commitment to making the right play as opponents, including Dallas on Friday night, often send a second defender to force the ball out of the five-time All-Star’s hands, it likely means watching the MVP Award go elsewhere.

In a national TV fight featuring two of the leading prospects for that award, Doncic produced a game-high 37 points. He also collected 12 rebounds and handed out 11 assists, notching his second triple-double in as many matches versus Boston this season. Only two other players, Tyrese Haliburton and Alperen Sengun, have done so against. the Celtics in the 2023–24 campaign.

Tatum finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, both team-highs. Also, he frequently cut apart Dallas’ defense when the visitors threw a second defender at him, voluntarily shifting the ball to allow the hosts to capitalize on their numerical advantage.

The two-time All-NBA First Team selection directly dished up three assists and facilitated three more of the hockey sort, making the pass before the feed that went to a bucket.

At the opposite end, opponents shot 33.3 percent against him, the lowest success rate of any defender who spent at least 10 minutes on defense. His two-way performance helped the hosts outscore their guests 72-51 in the second half of their 28-point thumping.

While both stars aided their MVP cases in different ways, Doncic doesn’t want to get caught up in something he can’t control.

“Oh, I mean, I don’t know. I suppose that’s for the media. They have the votes, so I don’t know.”

There’s also a mutual respect between the two stars who conversed with each other following Friday’s showdown, with the heart of the Mavericks’ offense stating, “He’s a terrific guy. We both have a lot of respect for each other, which is fantastic.”