The Boston Celtics struggled to control the glass during their Game 4 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday (June 14). The Celtics were out-hustled for second-chance opportunities 31-52. As such, Dallas was able to control the tempo and flow of the game, leaving Boston trying to play catchup throughout the contest.
Following Boston’s first loss of the NBA Finals, Joe Mazzulla addressed the Mavericks’ dominant rebounding performance during his postgame news conference. Mazzulla also called on his team to show improvement on the boards ahead of Game 5 in Boston on Monday (June 17), where his team could potentially close out the series.
“Anytime there’s two-on-ones and little indecisions, they do a great job cutting behind you and wedging under and getting in,” Mazzulla said. “I thought Lively was great in that. We had 26 misses in the first half and only 2 offensive rebounds, and they had more. So we’ve got to be better in our defensive rebounding, and we have to be better getting offensive rebounds when we miss.”
Kristaps Porzingis’ absence due to injury has undoubtedly hindered Boston’s ability to protect the rim and control the defensive glass. However, they must find a way to secure rebounds, regardless of whether the veteran big man is on the floor or not.
Reacting to the Boston Celtics blowout Game 4 finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks https://t.co/6omBdHuplF pic.twitter.com/rJbDlI8CQt
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) June 15, 2024
The Celtics will be playing for the chance to secure an 18th championship trophy on Monday. Porzignis’ availability will likely be day-to-day as he continues to recover.
Nevertheless, Mazzulla’s team will undoubtedly be looking to improve their rebounding performance as they look to end their season on the strongest note possible.
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