Paul Pierce, a Boston Celtics legend, has predicted that his former team will defeat the Dallas Mavericks in six games in this year’s NBA Finals.
Pierce emphasized Boston’s depth and experience as key factors over Dallas. He acknowledged the Mavericks’ reliance on the superstar duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving but highlighted more contributors for the Celtics outside of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“The reason that the Celtics will win the NBA Finals, when you look at the heartaches that they’ve been through, I mean, they’ve been through the pain, they’ve been through the struggle. They have the experience. I think they understand the moment a little more than Dallas,” Pierce said on Undisputed.
Pierce pointed to Jrue Holiday’s championship experience as valuable for Boston. He also noted that Brown and Tatum have been to the Finals and understand the magnitude of the moment, recognizing that it’s a now-or-never situation.
“[Jrue] Holiday has won a championship, so that’s awesome having him in the locker room. [Jaylen] Brown and [Jayson] Tatum have been to the Finals, they understand the moment and they understand that this now or never cause you can’t guarantee yourself getting back to there,” he continued.
Pierce stated that Boston’s role players can step up when the stars have off nights, unlike Dallas, where Doncic and Irving must excel consistently. He mentioned Derrick White as capable of winning Finals MVP, underscoring the Celtics’ depth.
“Dallas, as great as they are, their role players are great, I just think we’re a deeper team,” Pierce said. “I think Dallas’ two superstars have to play great every single night for them to win.
“On the flip side, there’s times when Jayson Tatum hasn’t play well, there’s times Brown hasn’t played well. They still know how to win. When you got guys like Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, who could be good enough to win Finals MVP, I can’t say that on the other side for Dallas. It’s going to be Luka if they win. It’s going to be Kyrie. It’s going to be one of the two.”
Pierce concluded, “Celtics in six.”
Boston finished the regular season with the league’s best record at 64-18. Meanwhile, the Mavericks secured the fifth seed in the Western Conference.
