Luka Dončić-Mavericks set to take on Jayson Tatum-Celtics in 2024 NBA Finals, who wins? | UNDISPUTED

Luka Dončić-Mavericks set to take on Jayson Tatum-Celtics in 2024 NBA Finals, who wins? | UNDISPUTED

I usually want to go with a team that I think’s goingon to win and I think the Celtics are going to win has nothing to do with Luca I know you want it to be about Luca but has nothing look LC is great he’s a walking bucket we could admit to that he’s one of the most prolific offensive players that I’ve seen as I’ve been able to understand the NBA since as a kid but there’s a lot of Firepower in Boston man I understand that we talk about that they hadn’t gone through a gauntlet it was somewhat easy because everybody was magically getting hurt right before they play him or what you were playing they hired a Hitman no magically though right it was like soon as they get ready to play them they play a game then they hurt you know whether it was Jimmy Butler and and Rosier whether it was Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland or halber it was just everything and then if they have played the Knicks that whole team fell apart I get it I understand that but they’re so good on both ends of the floor all five on the floor all seven on the floor eight on the floor that’s how deep they are where you feel like or they feel like even I feel like watching you got Tatum and brown you got and I’m assume porzingis is coming back we got seven days you say skip before they play again yeah but so they’ve had tennish right okay so tennish and plus the time he’s been out he’s been rehabing so you got porzingis you got Derek white uh uh uh Drew holiday then you get on to the bench you got little pritet running around and Hower I mean you just got it’s it’s just like a lot of depth that they have that they can switch off there’s there’s three guys that I could think of maybe even four four guys on their starting unit that can guard Luca if they need to at any moment in time maybe not the en entire stretch of the game picking him up from one end to the next whatever but they can go and switch off many different ways that to me is going to be an issue for the Mass plus they got assassins on their side that can shoot deadly at any moment in time too I know we give Tatum Tatum’s getting a lot of you know a lot of heat because he’s been to the Conference Finals as many times and they went to the final and lost and he’s the face of the team and people act as though he can’t play basketball at times which isn’t true and we anointed him a certain at a certain level and now all of a sudden Jaylen Brown is something different and so you start looking at that and you say okay let’s c those two out with those two now let’s look at the rest of the roster it doesn’t match up for the Mavs the way that it does for the for the Celtics and I and look I hate Boston as a as an organization because I’m a Laker but as far as the players go I can’t hate them I like their I like their style like what they do and you know I like Jaylen Brown cuz he got that grit in he just does and so they going to be up against it and you’re right I am picking the Celtics no question about it okay I went the long way but I’m picking the Celtics but you’re picking lesser of evils because now you’re on Paul’s side right well no I’m I’m really rooting for the players I’m I’m a player guy I’m rooting for the players I can care less about Paul and the Celtics that that’s over with Paul is one of my childhood friends I’m rooting for Tatum to get the monkey off his back in the negative yeah stuff that comes his way okay I’m rooting for Jaylen Brown to because here it is again I got another guy that is like an Atman letting you know hey man he didn’t say it he just kind of letting you know that I didn’t get my fair share I hadn’t been voted on the all NBA or defensive team and y’all keep voting for people you know that’s oneway players that’s defense no because I don’t have a you I don’t have a vote people like this they got votes but no in all seriousness am I supposed to vote for a twoa player I’m just I’m just messing with you and in all seriousness though word in all seriousness though they’re just deeper yeah they’re just deeper I I think that’s a big key look it was huge for Dallas to be able to wrap up that Series last night because they are a little banged up also right Luca in particular it’s amazing what he’s doing but he legitimately you can see him favoring the other leg he has a knee injury he has an ankle injury ites we even got a little blood last night yeah you got a little knee blood yes there was knee blood last night it’s it’s not being used as an excuse Kean I’m not saying it is and he’s still dropping the only reason why I make the face Rachel is because everybody at this time of year got something wrong but he’s their best player and he needs the rest and he needs the recovery time so I think that was important and that will impact how Dallas approaches this series but Dallas will have to play the best it has ever played to even really have a shot here because ke are absolutely right Boston is a deeper team from start to finish and I think the defense is really where the key is here he’s still going to be the best player in the series Luca and you could actually see him inviting the press a little bit last night so you think so so you you’re willing to say he’s going to be the best player in the series so let me let me let me EXP point on the defens you could see him inviting the press a little bit last night and that was interesting to me because I think that is how the Celtics are going to play him I think they will put him up full court a lot of the time and you are absolutely right they have three individual Defenders who are elite elite two of them made the all defensive team one arguably should have and while they have played teams with great team defense Minnesota obviously a great defensive team Oklahoma City really a good defensive team but they don’t have those individual guys who can go toeto Toe with Luca the way these guys can I still listen L Dort is pretty good but anyway go ahead I still think Luca will flourish in this series I do think I’m not saying he’s going to perform the best and have the best numbers at the end understand but I will tell you that I think Luca is the most talented player going into this series I think he is the one who can take a game and affect it more than anyone else who will be on that floor but it is not always true that the team with the best player wins the series and not when Boston is this deep because look Dallas’s own defense which has been Elite for the past couple months they’re really based on packing the paint right and that paid off in a lot of these series they played in the west that’s not going to pay off against Boston Boston took and made the most three-pointers of any team in the league this year I’m not sure if that’s great or bad well look it’s they live and die on that they do but it’s great first of all made though also not just took but made uh the most of anyone in the league it’s great if you’re playing a team that at least thus far doesn’t have his defensive schemes hooked up for that so I think that will also be a challenge for Jason kid I I just think that when you look at this team from top to bottom you can also say that this is a bunch of experienced guys who are ready and they big too they’re not small no no no the entire team is big they are ready your Jason Tatum point is absolutely true he has been hearing it for years now he is ready to face that and win this title and with the Mavericks you’ve got a team that really just had to fight its way through the Western Conference finals and this group it’s the first time they’re going to be there it’s Luca’s first NBA Finals I I just think that all of that comes into play okay so I’m hearing Celtics and six is that is that where you’re going I yeah I probably I would say six or five are you going five no I’ll have to see the I have to see the games before I can say if I reduce it from That’s not how we do things how I would do it I’m saying right now today skip six I need to see how they play in game one before I reduce it if they if they play sluggish I may increase it to seven or I may reduce it to five or if they blow him out I may just say here come the broom I got to see it but right now six to be fair so we’re going chalk chalk Rock Chalk jhawk where’s Paul when we need him right okay oh please Paul will pick the Celtics I’m saying yeah I’m kidding PA as much of a contrarian as he is he would a th% that is a fact yes that’s the one uncont topic that he has is Celtics anything Celtics okay I’m going to preface what I’m about to say by saying I really like these Celtics I I like all of them I think they’re all really really high character good people all of them there’s not one that I say I I just I detest that guy or I can’t stand that guy all of them highest character starting with Jason Tatum and when we talk about face of the league off the court listen you can’t get better than Jason Tatum just to as a really good young man that’s just me okay and all of them Drew holiday is one of my all-time favorite players just because he’s got you want to talk about guts and grit and Championship medal he he is made of the rights know he’s from skip okay I got it and his family is a basketball family top to bottom and white who I came to love when he was a Spur he just knows how to play basketball and he’ll give you every ounce every night of what he’s got and he knows how to defend as much with his mind as his body and Al Horford’s been there it feels like for 35 years but he just knows how to play and he makes big shots for them when the game’s on the line and he gets the ball over there in the corner I’m like that’s good you just know he’s going to make one Rudy go beer scary no not you’re not getting that I give you all the above now I’m going to tell you why I’m going to pick Dallas in seven games okay I’m going Dallas winning game seven at Boston and I’m going to first quibble with your points that you make about Boston is deeper I can’t even fathom how you can think Boston is deeper than Dallas because coming off their bench I’m looking at Sam Hower and P pton Pritchard Hower manard they little scrappies okay are they really yeah absolutely and where else are we going what’s the difference between them and TJ McConnell they the same type of players they run around and same thing you was thinking the same thing same thing okay I I think they’re deeper in their top six okay I’ll give them in their top five because they’re they’re starting five because he’s coming back and then Horford okay maybe but but Luke cornette from banil University I’m like no no I mean he doesn’t scare anybody I’m sorry they they don’t those three guys I just named the scrappy guys they don’t scare any but they’re not playing 25 minutes though skip they giving you 10 but think about this Derek Lively is coming off the bench so I’m going to count him as a bench player and every time I see Jaden Hardy I say look at him because he was a g-league star and help me out did you Kean did you watch him because every time he stepped on the floor against Minnesota great things started happening because he is not afraid he like seven minutes a game but he is wildly talented and no fear fine but he’s not playing nothing game he’s better he’s better than Pritchard he just is I I I’ll take him any day or night and Josh Green is just a good basketball player who comes in he’s tough the Australian kid and there’s this guy on the bench named Tim Hardaway Jr and I don’t know what happened to him but he’s it’s called coach’s decision did not play I know but listen back again these teams have played twice in the regular seon first game yes obviously but they were it was all before this line all of it before the tra one was before the trades even the one after one didn’t play before this line okay but in one of those games Tim Hardway Jr scored 20 because you know and I know he is highly capable of scoring 20 a game and having as hot a hand as anybody on this roster when was the last time he stepped on the floor skid well I don’t know a little bit well okay but three games but I’m just saying it does he so all of a sudden so all of a sudden a guy who has been sidelined you never know the coach go say Hey you is he okay help me out Tim Hardway or little Payton priter who you like who you got but I I’ll take I think I’ll take Tim Hardway Jr yeah based on Sam Hower or Tim Hardway Jr I think I’ll take Tim Hardway Jr help me out I love Tim Hardway J I think that I think that he is obviously being underutilized right now but that’s for a reason right he doesn’t fit in all right to this lineup and these schemes that they’re playing and that’s really the key all right so here’s the bigger key for me I’m going to beat these numbers over the head because in in seven Road wins for this team this year seven Road wins cuz this team is better away from home and you can argue this is going to be the home away from home series because Boston’s been a little sh nether one of them should play games at home that is correct that is correct neutral sight okay luk check this out in seven Road wins he’s shooting 43% from three but more important they’ve won five straight on the road and in those five games he’s shooting 48% from three that’s insanely good that’s hard to beat so Boston over its last three playoff runs is 17 and 14 at home and that counts one decimated Cleveland win this year and then game one against Indiana Indiana did everything but win the game I thought they had won the game and they said here we will hand it back to you okay so that’s they’re barely over 500 17 and 14 they are vulnerable at home Luca is the best at their house so I I promise you LC can go win a game there and I think he can win two games I never but but but the thing is is I never said that he couldn’t go they could the Mavs couldn’t go into Boston and win a game they could very well go just like the Celtics could go in the Dallas and win game then think about this entire playoff series The home teams have all struggled look what Denver did All home teams have struggled they just have for whatever reason look Luca is gonna get his numbers in this series because even when he doesn’t play well he gets a triple double that’s how good he is so we will see high-scoring numbers from Luca on the road I think at home sometimes absolutely but how effective those minutes and points are going to be is going to change because he has not yet in this playoffs faced a defense as deep as Boston and that’s where some of the that’s where some of the depth that at least I’m talking about is coming from when I talk about depth everyone in Boston’s rotation is a plus Defender every single one you cannot say that about the Mavericks and look I sat here before the season started and said whoever gets Drew holiday when it was clear he was up for trade and had already been sent to Portland whoever gets Drew holiday that will swing the NBA championship and I do still think that that will be one of the moves that swings the championship but I’m here to say that for much of this series Dallas will have the two best players on the floor the two best I’m not g to say that though skip I how could I say that how could you say that how could you say that you you again did you see what just happened yes but like Mama just said over here they don’t have individual defense in Minnesota they collectively as a group have been anointed as the top defense based on their scheme these dudes are matching up defensively jayen Brown just said to us the other day he did okay quietly I’m waiting for this trust me Luca heard he heard that I don’t think look for one minute do I think he didn’t hear no I I think loud big ears cuz they going to tell him yeah and he going to read it but at the end of the day they’re too deep skip the reality of they too deep deep where and they’re starting five or and they deep they could they can float anybody and push anybody over there I don’t get your definition of deep because I I don’t see the bench you’re just talking about the starting five you’re talking about the versatility of the starting the six people is deep to me I don’t need coaches aren’t running all the way to the bottom of mother the roster yeah they just not they stay right there in that 67 spot I’ve been saying for two months there’s just something about this Maverick team there is something they have found themselves what the guy we get ready to talk about too and it starts with him to tell you the truth y thanks for watching Undisputed fans do you want more highlights from the show make sure to click that subscribe button for all the exclusive content from Undisputed

Skip Bayless, Rachel Nichols and Keyshawn Johnson predict who wins the 2024 NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.

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Luka Dončić-Mavericks set to take on Jayson Tatum-Celtics in 2024 NBA Finals, who wins? | UNDISPUTED

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