Numbers to know: 20 stats that define the NBA Finals between the Mavs and Celtics

Heading into their NBA Finals matchup with the Boston Celtics, the Dallas Mavericks are underdogs, a role they’re not unfamiliar with in this postseason.

The Mavs have beaten the No. 1 (OKC Thunder), No. 3 (Minnesota Timberwolves) and No. 4 (LA Clippers) Western Conference seeded teams to advance to the finals and have done so sporting a 12-5 postseason record.

How do the Mavs match up with the Boston Celtics? Here are 20 stats that will define the series.

1

The amount of NBA Championships won by the Dallas Mavericks in franchise history. The Mavs have played in two NBA Finals, both against the Miami Heat losing to Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal in 2006 before beating Wade and LeBron James in 2011.

17

The Los Angeles Lakers and Celtics are both tied for the most NBA Championships in league history at 17. It has been over a decade since the Celtics last won the NBA title in 2008 when Paul Pierce starred for Boston.

64

The Celtics win total for the regular season making them the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record. No other team in the Eastern or Western Conference had 60 wins during the regular season.

50

The Mavs went 50-32 during the regular season, making them the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. The fewest number of wins a Mavs team has ever had while still making the NBA Finals.

5

Luka Doncic is leading the NBA playoffs in five categories, total points(489), rebounds (164), assists (150), three-pointers made (57), and steals (28). Doncic could become the first player in NBA history to lead the entire league in all five categories in a single postseason.

181

The number of postseason games played by Celtics forward Al Horford is the third most in NBA history for a player without a championship victory behind only John Stockon (182) and Karl Malone (193). Horford’s defense will be crucial in the upcoming series as the Mavs will look to let Doncic target the 38-year-old on the defensive end to try to create mismatches, score and find teammates for open threes.

6-3

No team in the NBA has played or won more clutch time games than the Mavs this season who have a 6-3 record in such games. The NBA defines clutch time as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points.

Clutch time is where NBA Finals champions are made and both teams have excelled in those situations in the postseason. while Dallas has the most wins Boston is undefeated with four wins in clutch time games. If the Mavs want to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy they‘ll most likely have to blemish the Celtics’ clutch games record.

35.98%

Luka Doncic has a regular season usage rate of 35.98%, if Doncic and the Mavs win the finals it will be the highest regular season usage rate ever by a player who won the NBA Finals in the same year surpassing Michael Jordan’s mark set in the 1992-93 season.

Usage rate is defined by the percentage of offensive possessions that a player ends with a field goal attempt, free throws or a turnover while on the floor. Doncic has lowered his usage to 31.3 in the NBA playoffs and a slight lessening of his offensive burden might help Doncic more easily avoid fatigue in the finals.

7-2

The Mavs have been road warriors throughout the playoffs and are coming off an exceptional performance in the Western Conference Finals where they won all three road games including game six on the road to clinch a NBA Finals berth.

The Mavs have been the lower seed in every playoff series this year, making their road prowess even more impressive.

42.7

The Mavs allow the fourth-fewest points in the paint per game in the NBA Playoffs but will have their hands full with a Celtics team that ranks No. 2 and 6 in points scored in the restricted area and points scored in the paint outside the restricted area.

Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford have provided excellent rim protection for the Mavs and will have to continue their effectiveness in their toughest matchup yet.

30

Daniel Gafford leads the playoffs in blocks and has defended the rim better than almost any player in the NBA allowing 45.2% shooting at the rim the number one mark in the league for any player guarding at least 50 shots at the rim.

Lively has provided a similar impact allowing 49.3% shooting at the rim placing him third-best in the league.

47.4

No team in the NBA Playoffs takes a higher percentage of their shots from three than the Celtics at 47.4%. Boston is also one of the most accurate teams from three-point range shooting 36.8% for fifth best in the league.

The Mavs have been average at limiting opponents’ three-point percentages, holding teams to 35.6% shooting from three during the playoffs. That places Dallas ninth out of 16 teams.

27.2

27.2 is the number of points Kyrie Irving has averaged over his 13 NBA finals games in addition to 4.2 rebounds and assists. Irving has a 1-2 record in the finals though in 2015 he only played one game due to injury.

The only player on the Mavs to have played major minutes in the finals, Derrick Jones Jr played nine minutes in four games during the 2020 NBA Finals. Irving’s leadership will be key with a team full of players who have never played in the finals.

11.6

The Mavs have led the NBA in corner three-point attempts and are third in percentage shooting 39.4%. PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr have both been major recipients shooting 41% and 46% from the corners respectively.

The Mavs’ ability to hit from the corners has punished teams when they’ve tried to send help on Doncic or Irving.

31%

The Mavs have grabbed 31% of available offensive rebounds which places them fourth-best in the playoffs. They’ve scored 13.4-second chance points per game, also fourth best in the league, thanks to their offensive rebounding prowess.

The Celtics are well suited to try and limit the Mavs’ offensive rebounding, the Celtics were second in defensive rebounding percentage grabbing 77.8% of available defensive rebounds.

377

Doncic has created 377 points off assists in the playoffs 75 more points created than second-place Tyrese Haliburton. Doncic was the leading assist-man on buckets made for every member of the Mavs starting five.

33.3% and 30.4%

One area of concern for the Celtics could be the lack of elite shot-making from Jayson Tatum on the way to the finals. Tatum has taken the fourth-most pull-up threes and the eighth-most pull-up twos in the entire playoffs but has shot only 30.4% from three and a league-worst 33.3% from two.

61.5%

Among players with at least five two-point shots attempted per game, Eastern Conference Finals MVP Jaylen Brown ranks tenth among all players and third among guards with a shooting percentage of 61.5%.

47.4%

Derrick White had one of the best seasons of his career averaging 15.1 points 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds and has been just as good for the Celtics in the playoffs.

One area where the Mavs will have to pay attention to White is on catch-and-shoot three-point opportunities. White has taken the fourth most such shots in the league and leads the NBA shooting 47.4% off those opportunities.

12.9

Doncic has scored relentlessly off pick-and-rolls in the postseason ranking third in points scored (12.9) and is tied for eighth in points per possession (1.03).

Doncic and the Mavs will begin their series with the Celtics at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at TD Garden and will air on ABC.