Five things the Celtics need to win the Finals. Plus, the Lakers’ new best-case scenario

BOSTON, MA - MAY 21: Jayson Tatum #0 and Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics high five during the game against the Indiana Pacers during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2024 NBA Playoffs on May 21, 2024 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
By Zach Harper and Shams Charania
Jun 5, 2024

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I truly love my job with The Athletic, and I’ve never been happier at a company. But if we’re giving coaching money to podcasters now … 🤙

The Athletic has live coverage of Celtics vs. Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals

Boston’s To-Do List

Five things the Celtics must do to win Finals

Two more newsletters (including this one) remain until we tip off the 2024 NBA Finals Thursday night (8:30 p.m. ET) between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics. Yesterday, we explored the five things the Mavs need to do to win the NBA championship. Today, we’re going for the five things the Celtics need to do to secure banner No. 18.

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5. Play five-out as much as possible. One of the reasons the Mavs turned their defense around is because Daniel Gafford began commanding the middle for them. That’ll be hard to do when he has to cover Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford on the perimeter. Boston needs to stretch that defense as much as possible and force Dallas to help off shooters to cover the rim.

4. Dare role players to be heroes. You’re never going to completely take away Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić, even with Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to throw at them. But I would force P.J. Washington to replicate what he did against OKC. I would also dare Derrick Jones Jr. to increase his shot volume. The Celtics should try to make Jason Kidd believe Tim Hardaway Jr. is an answer at some point. Make a role player come up big in every game.

3. End defensive possessions with rebounds. The Celtics are pretty close to being a top-10 defensive rebounding club this season. And Dallas was 24th in offensive rebounding rate (22.4 percent). But the Mavericks increased that figure to 28 percent in the first two rounds and were above 25 percent against the Wolves’ interior. Boston can’t let Dallas extend possessions.

2. Keep attacking the paint. This doesn’t mean the Celtics shouldn’t shoot a cruiseliner’s worth of 3-pointers. They absolutely should. Even this Mavericks team – postseason-high 214 made 3s – will struggle to keep up with them from deep. But they have to consistently be generated within the flow of the offense. Boston does that by breaking down the perimeter defense, getting into the middle and forcing tough defensive rotation decisions.

1. Attack Dončić as much as possible. I’m not sure how much the 25-year-old Dončić wears down anymore, but the Celtics should go against him when he’s on defense for two reasons: 1) He’s going to be the weakest defender Dallas has on the floor in pretty much every possession he’s out there. 2) If you can take his legs or stamina from him by the end of a close game, then maybe you have to deal with only Irving’s in those big moments? A defense can dream …

The Latest From Shams

Lakers zeroing in on Redick

The Los Angeles Lakers are zeroing in on JJ Redick as the frontrunner for the franchise’s next head coach, league and industry sources say. Despite no decision being made yet, and the Lakers completing their remaining steps in the coaching search process, indications are that Redick is their leading choice at this stage.

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The Lakers have had interviews with several other candidates, including Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and Nuggets assistant David Adelman. The Lakers‘ search has been narrowed to Redick and Borrego in recent weeks, sources said.

Redick, who recently co-hosted the “Mind the Game” podcast with LeBron James, has never coached above the youth level but played 15 NBA seasons and is the most forward-facing of the Lakers’ candidates.

Code Red(ick)

Best-case scenario for Redick as Lakers coach

I guess the most extreme answer for this is a championship, right? But isn’t that the best-case scenario for all teams when we really boil it down? Yes, even the Hornets! Okay, maybe not the Wizards, but still.

Regardless, the Lakers appear to be sold on Redick as their next next coach. For those who don’t remember, Redick was a menace at Duke, a very good NBA role player, and has two basketball podcasts – one of them with LeBron James. Wait a second! LeBron plays for the Lakers! What are the odds?

We have to properly contextualize what the Lakers currently are. They finished 47-35 this past regular season, which is pretty good. The previous season, that would have netted the No. 4 seed in the West. This year, it meant being the No. 7 seed and a Play-In Tournament berth. They won their Play-In game and faced Denver in the first round, which they lost in five spirited games because they just can’t topple the Nuggets. It’s not in the cards for them, but perhaps Dallas reaching the Finals gives the Lakers hope of what they can be if another team eliminates Denver before they have to.

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LeBron just had his most efficient shooting season since 2013-14. Anthony Davis had a phenomenal individual season. The star duo missed just a combined 17 games after sitting out 53 combined in 2022-23, but the Lakers are a good team with a very defined ceiling as long as the Nuggets remain a roadblock. And, while Lakers fans and the organization scapegoated Darvin Ham as the coach, roster construction was a bigger issue for the team.

Redick can come in with all of the X’s and O’s to make LeBron believe. He can also implement the right rotations. But ultimately, the upside will come down to what the Lakers do with their trade assets and the picks they can move this summer. Star power is what they sought with the Russell Westbrook trade years ago, but they need to add depth and stability. That’s not as sexy as going for Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell, but this isn’t a beauty pageant either. If the Lakers don’t improve their roster, Redick will have to worry about just getting them to the playoffs.

This Redick news has the hamster on the wheel in my brain working overtime with other people from the podcasting world migrating over to the NBA sidelines to don a quarter-zip and maybe break a clipboard.

  • Michael Barbaro (Host of The Daily): This man is all about consistency and breaking things down every day. The Pistons could use this attention to detail.
  • Ian Karmel (All Fantasy Everything): He’s the biggest Blazers fan I know, so he should absolutely take over for Chauncey Billups in Portland. Expect him to name Rasheed Wallace as his lead assistant.
  • Jason Mantzoukas (How Did This Get Made?): This Greek, screaming, big personality would be perfect for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee.
  • Paul Scheer (How Did This Get Made?): Paul is a massive Clippers fan, but I only want him as their coach if his wife and co-host, June Diane Raphael, is the PA announcer.
  • Ira Glass (This American Life): I can’t think of a better pairing in human history than Ira Glass and Ja Morant vibing together. Put him in Memphis.
  • Ashley and Brit (Crime Junkie): Does anybody find out what’s gone wrong better than these two? Let them co-coach the Wizards.
  • Conan O’Brien (Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend): He’s from Boston, but we need to have Conan taking over for Gregg Popovich in San Antonio to marvel at Victor Wembanyama.
  • Pablo Torre (Pablo Torre Finds Out): He believes in “The Process” more than just about anybody. Go coach your precious Joel Embiid in Philly, Pablo!

Next up, let’s discuss some NBA front office savvy.

Tanking Works

Mavericks show how effective tanking can be

A year ago, the Mavericks decided to endure some shame for the greater good of their future. After starting the season 31-26 and trading for Irving at the trade deadline to pair with Dončić, Dallas went into a freefall. The Mavericks went 7-18 over the final 25 games of last season and chose to sit most of their key players in the final two games with an outside chance to make the Play-In Tournament, which caught ire.

The NBA fined Dallas $750,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league” in order to improve their chances of keeping their first-round pick. They owed the pick to the New York Knicks for the Porziņģis trade, but it was top-10 protected in the 2023 draft. The selection ended up settling in at 10th, and the Mavs engineered a draft night deal with the Thunder. They sent Cason Wallace (selected 10th overall for OKC) and Davis Bertāns to the Thunder for Dereck Lively II (selected 12th for Dallas).

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Despite playing just 55 games, Lively was integral to Dallas’ success early on and throughout this season. Dallas finished 50-32 overall but operated at a 52-win pace when Lively played. The Mavericks further bolstered their frontcourt by acquiring Gafford and Washington at the deadline, and the rest is history. This might be the easiest 750k an organization has ever eaten, considering the immediate return and bright future of this rookie big man.

Bounce Passes

X’s and Mo’s: How Dallas’ pick-and-roll game can hurt Boston.

LeBron James wouldn’t mind still being teammates with Kyrie Irving.

Yes, the Celtics had an easy path to the Finals. It shouldn’t matter.

(Top photo: Brian Babineau / Getty Images )

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