Joe Mazzulla rejects idea that Celtics’ chances of winning NBA Finals comes down to stopping Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving

“The whole thing is that’s what people like to focus on,” Mazzulla told reporters Saturday. “They don’t look at the game as a connected game. If those guys play well, then they beat you. They don’t look at your offense, your defense, your turnovers, your second-chance points or your execution at the offensive end.

“The whole thing that this series is about ‘stopping those two guys,’ there is no stopping them,” Mazzulla added. “There’s defending them at a high level and there’s playing a complete game because every part of a game is connected.”

Mazzulla pointed to the close games that the Mavericks played against the Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals as examples of how games can be connected. As he remarked that “the first 3 1/2 quarters are just as important as the last two minutes of the game,” Mazzulla also mentioned that the things the Timberwolves gave up are “things you can control over a long period of time.”

“We’re not here to stop these guys,” Mazzulla said. “We’re here to play a complete game of basketball and have an understanding of how everything has an effect on everything else. They’re going to score. It’s what they do best. If we don’t take care of the things that are within our control, then that doesn’t put us in the best possible position to win.”

Doncic scored 32.4 points with 8.4 assists per game in the series while Irving added 27 points per game, helping the Mavericks comeback from three fourth-quarter deficits in the 4-1 series win.

As Doncic and Irving delivered devastating buckets to the Timberwolves, Mazzulla believes that the Celtics might be equipped to handle the duo’s scoring after what happened in their sweep over the Pacers.

“It can have an emotional impact on you if you let it,” Mazzulla said when asked if what the duo does offensively can have an impact on the Celtics. “I think the Indiana series was a tremendous test for us because it tested our emotional ability to withstand things we were willing to give up. They shot 60 percent from non-layup 2s, which is the shot you’re willing to give up over a long period of time. We managed the fourth quarter better than we managed the end of halves or end of quarters. We were able to keep them out of transition in [Games 3 and 4].

“It’s just a test of the things you can’t control. That’s the biggest thing. If you get into trying to worry about things you can’t control, then it doesn’t put you in the best position to win.”

Of course, the Celtics will want to slow down Doncic and Irving to whatever extent they can in the NBA Finals. They had a mixed bag of results in the two regular-season games. Doncic had a 33-point triple-double in the January matchup, but shot 12 of 30 from the field while Irving scored 23 points on 9 of 20 shooting.

Doncic was much better in the game in March, putting up a 37-point triple-double as he shot 14 of 25 from the field. But Irving’s 19 points on 9 of 23 shooting was nowhere near enough as the Celtics won that game, 138-110.

Derrick White, who figures to enter the equation of guarding either player after making an All-Defensive team again this season, understands the difficulty of guarding Doncic and Irving.

“Two completely different players, but some of the best guards in the NBA,” White told reporters Saturday. “It’s going to be a challenge. Luka, with his size and physicality, and Kyrie, with his creativity, it’s definitely a challenge. It’s going to be a lot of different guys thrown at them in a lot of different matchups. You’ve just got to take the challenge.”

White hasn’t had the greatest success defending the Mavericks duo over the last couple of seasons. Doncic has scored 29 points on 12 of 18 shooting with zero turnovers in the 26 possessions that White’s been the primary defender while Irving has 20 points on 10 of 20 shooting with three turnovers in the 70 possessions White’s been the primary defender, via NBA.com’s tracking stats.

But the Celtis have a few other options they can throw at the duo. Jrue Holiday also made second-team All-Defense this season and has made timely defensive plays this postseason. Doncic and Irving haven’t had great success against the length of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum over the last couple of years, either. The duo has shot a combined 10 of 29 for 23 points when Brown’s been their primary defender and has shot a combined 7 of 22 for 18 points when Tatum’s been the primary defender.

Regardless of what the Celtics do, White’s carrying the same mindset as his head coach when it comes to guarding Doncic and Irving.

“We know their great players,” White said. “There’s really no stopping them. You just try to make it difficult for them. They’re going to take tough shots and they’re going to make tough shots. So, just continuing to trust the gameplan, trust that over 48 minutes what we’re doing is going to work.

“There’s going to be stretches where they hit three, four, five tough shots in a row, but you’ve just got to continue to keep trusting the gameplan and what’s going to work out in the long run.”

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