Former teammates, Jaylen Brown, of the Boston Celtics, and Kyrie Irving, of the Dallas Mavericks, … [+]
The NBA thrives on drama. Drama drives fan interest and fan interest drives ratings. Given how anticlimactic the conference finals were, it shouldn’t be that shocking that the NBA’s ratings are down from last year’s postseason. The good news for the league is that the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks should make for must-see TV.
The Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves both kept things competitive during individual games, but their opponents still managed to take 3-0 leads against them in their respective conference finals. Boston ended up sweeping Indiana, who consistently fell apart in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves, who knocked out the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the previous series, only managed to salvage only a single game in their series.
It’s hard to imagine this NBA Finals being one-sided, however. The Celtics had the best record in the NBA, taking a 14-game lead over the second-place New York Knicks in the East. Meanwhile, the fifth-seeded Mavericks have saved their best basketball for the postseason and have had to defeat stronger competition than the Celtics to reach this far. While Boston may have beaten the Mavericks in both of their regular season games—and has home-court advantage—Dallas has been outplaying them and has the best individual player in Luka Dončić.
These two teams are also reliable draws. Dallas is the league’s fifth-largest market while Boston is their eight-largest market. These are two big-ticket teams, so it’s unsurprising that the ticket prices for the NBA Finals have been hitting record highs.
And star power? These two teams have it. Dončić has been one of the best players in the league for years despite not having the same postseason success as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić. Dončić’s sidekick Kyrie Irving never stopped being one of the most talked about players in the NBA, but for the first time in years it’s primarily about what he’s doing on the court. Over in Boston, Jayson Tatum is an established star and—even if Stephen A. Smith has doubts—Jaylen Brown has made a case that he should be one as well.
It’s also been a while since either of these two teams has won a championship. The Mavericks last won in 2011, while the Celtics’ last victory hasn’t been since 2008. Since then, they’ve sat and watched the Los Angeles Lakers tie their NBA record of 17 championships. Make no mistake, all these Celtics are desperate for Banner 18, particularly 38-year-old Al Horford who is still searching for his first ring.
Of course, the Celtics have regularly gotten deep into the playoffs in the Tatum-Brown Era but have acquired a reputation as underachievers for their inability to close things out. It’s a bit of an unfair tag as it feels like they’re punished for consistently being one of the best teams in the NBA, but expectations come higher for a team with such a proud tradition of winning.
Then there are the more gossipy storylines. All eyes will be on Irving’s return to Boston after making himself public enemy number one since his departure from the team. Meanwhile, the Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis is planning to return to action in Game 1 after a lengthy injury absence, which means he’ll also be facing a team that he left under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Will these storylines translate into high viewership and big ratings? In the end, it will all depend on whether or not the Finals is competitive. If either the Mavericks or Celtics come out dominating early, audiences might tune out. However, if both teams play up to their capabilities, it seems likely that we’re headed to six or seven games’ worth of high-stakes drama.