The Celtics may have perfected the modern NBA offense: infinite 3s and mid-range firepower

BOSTON – Twenty years after the Seven-Seconds-or-Less Phoenix Suns shook the NBA with an offense the likes of which the league had never seen or attempted to defend, the Boston Celtics have taken things to the next level.

Behold the perfect modern NBA offense, combining three-point volume and efficiency with ruthlessly efficient mid-range shooting, with occasional drives, dives and triples from the league's best forward tandem, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown providing the will crush the opponent.

The Celtics did the same thing to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday as they have done to opposing defenses all season. They stretched the Mavs to the breaking point and then broke them after a three-second barrage in the first half and a sensational return to action from Kristaps Porziņģis. Even after Dallas cut a first-half deficit of 29 points to 8 midway through the third quarter, Boston still had enough in the tank to cut the lead to 20 and put away Game 1, 107-89.

THAT'S A ☝️#Otherhere pic.twitter.com/0PLNoZMIJX

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 7, 2024

Like a great boxer, Boston just knocks you down with punches from all angles and speeds. On Thursday, it was Porziņģis – in his first action since straining his calf in Game 1 of the first round against the Miami Heat in April – who set the tone off the bench. Dallas threw everyone he could at the 7-foot-2 big man: Luka Dončić, Derrick Jones, Jaden Hardy, rookie Dereck Lively II. No one stopped him, let alone restrained him; Porziņģis made 7 of 9 shots and scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half, raining jumpers from the elbows and nail. The C's made 16 of 42 from deep, including three quick ones to end the third quarter, putting the Mavericks back in their place after pulling within 72-64.

At the same time, Brown also turned the game in Boston's favor by drawing Lively's fourth and fifth personal fouls within a minute, forcing Dallas to bench its big man, who defends best in space.

“When a team is on a run, you've got to get it done, stay calm and keep playing basketball,” Brown said of that end of the quarter. “It's almost like you have a little bit of short-term memory, like the team isn't even on the run. You have to play smart basketball and make big plays to get us on a (run), get our flow back, and I think I got to the free throw line in that third quarter. I think that helped us along the way. Then we made some kicks to the corner. Al (Horford) got a 3. We were able to get a good offense going.

Brown finished with 22 points and six rebounds. Tatum was just 6 of 16 from the floor, but had 11 rebounds and five assists and impressed against Dallas as a playmaker, piling up hockey assists all night. Jrue Holiday was a plus-20 on the floor in nearly 35 minutes. The Celtics' relentless pressure on defense for 48 minutes this season is the reason they are now three games away from the franchise's 18th NBA title. Do you choose poison? Are all gif when boston is rolling. And it gets into the minds of the opponents.

“We let the crowd get to us, we let the refs get to us, we let them come at us with shots,” Dallas forward PJ Washington said.

This series isn't over yet. Dallas almost always does its best work after a bad Game 1 in a seven-game series. But the Mavericks' dilemma, once again, is that what they've gotten good at defensively this season is what Boston doesn't depend on: scoring in the paint.

Dallas has been an excellent defense since acquiring Daniel Gafford from the Washington Wizards and Washington from the Charlotte Hornets. Gafford and Lively closed the roadway. The Celtics were good at scoring in the paint this season, finishing tied for eighth in the league with the Milwaukee Bucks in paint points per game (43.7). But that's not what Boston is counting on to eliminate teams.

Boston has boosted what Phoenix did to the league 20 years ago, when the Suns found small-ball success. The 2003-04 Suns had a brilliant point guard in two-time MVP Steve Nash, who pushed the pace at every opportunity, never gave up his dribble and tore the defense apart all season long. They had wings in Shawn Marion, Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson, all of whom could shoot and finish downhill. And the Suns had a sledgehammer of a young power forward in Amare Stoudemire, who dove to the rim for lobs and pocket passes from Nash.

Since then, many championship-caliber and championship-winning teams have relied on 3s: the Dwight Howard-era Orlando Magic, the Splash Brothers Golden State Warriors of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, the heliocentric Houston Rockets of James Harden. But Boston has gone one step further.

The Suns led the NBA in three-point attempts and attempts in 2003-04, with 2,026 three-point attempts and 796 attempted. This season, Boston also led the NBA in three-point attempts and hits after finishing second in every category last season.

The Celtics had 3,482 three-point attempts and 1,351 goals this season. Boston finished just 12 three seconds behind the single-season team record that the Warriors set last season. And the Celtics don't do this by playing small; they have tremendous size up front with Tatum, Brown, Horford and Porziņģis.

“I think we're doing our best to find what works and then continue to do that,” Holiday said. “I think this is something that we're kind of stuck in. And at the same time, 20 points (leads) in NBA games can mean nothing. I think it helps us to stay balanced and keep our wits about us. I think being consistent and doing things that we think we accomplished tonight.

The addition of Porziņģis from Washington last summer only adds to the Celtics' offensive wealth.

7 footer comes through 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZTzvGEPEDV

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 7, 2024

He gives Boston a dimension it didn't have in previous years: a big man who can score against almost anyone at any time. His development as an elbow and nail scorer makes it extremely difficult even when the defense is completely sold out on shutting down Boston's three-point shooters. Now it doesn't matter if Tatum or Brown has an off-night shooting. Boston simply leads Porziņģis off a pick-and-roll with Derrick White or Holiday, and he lines up (always smaller) defenders and lets them fly.

That takes some pressure off Tatum. But make no mistake: Tatum remains the catalyst for everything that's happened here over the past few seasons. Even during off-night shoots like Thursday, his presence tilts the floor.

“For us, it starts with JT, and then it's kind of a trickle-down effect,” Horford said. “And that's why we all fell in line. And he is, in my opinion, a big part of why everyone gets all these things. He opens up many things for us. And this tonight was just another night where we were consistent in that regard.

The Mavericks then talked about how they need to defend the 3 better and how they will do better in Game 2. And they could. Kyrie Irving had an off night; Had he made two or three wide-open shots, Dallas might have been able to withstand the Celtics' offensive onslaught in the fourth quarter, when Dallas can close out tight games behind its two best offensive talents.

But we are now in June. No one has been able to stop Boston's offense all season. It's starting to feel like no one can and maybe won't for a while.

(Photo by Kristaps Porziņģis: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)