Draymond Green is picking the Mavericks to upset the Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals. The Warriors star’s reasoning is simple: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will out-sððūðð the C’s with their combined wizardry.Â
While previewing the series on “The Draymond Green Show,” Green predicted Boston would win Game 1 at home by overwhelming Dallas with its “size and length” on the perimeter. However, he expects the Mavs to make the requisite adjustments and win three consecutive games to claim a 3-1 series lead.
“With Dallas [taking] a 3-1 lead I’ve got Boston taking Game 5 and I’ve got Dallas closing it in Game 6,” Green added.
Green believes Doncic and Irving’s shotmaking ability would eventually prove too much to overcome for the Celtics, the odds-on favorite to win the championship. Green also doesn’t think Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown would struggle in the finals stage as they did two years ago against his Warriors.
“I think it is Luka’s time, and I think Kyrie wants another one [NBA title],” Green predicted. “I think that experience is going to matter. I don’t think it’s a matter of JB and JT not playing well. I just ultimately think Dallas is going to get the job done. They’re on a magical run, they’ve got all the pieces… Dallas in six is what I got. I’m roling with it.”
Boston fans shouldn’t feel disheartened by Green’s prediction. The Warriors star picked the Kings to beat the Pelicans in the play-in game before declaring the Nuggets-Timberwolves series was “over” after Nikola Jokic’s team went up 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals. He was wrong on both occasions.
If Green’s NBA Finals prediction comes true, the Mavericks will become the second-lowest seed to win the championship since the 1994-1995 Rockets. Those Rockets entered the 1995 playoffs as the sixth seed only to repeat as champions. This year’s Mavericks entered the postseason as the fifth seed, defeating three 50-win teams en route to the NBA Finals.