There is no shortage of respect from Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd towards Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown.

Although Brown was left off of the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams this season, he has been a major contributor to the Celtics’ postseason success, showcasing amazing two-way ability to win MVP of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

In Boston’s 107-89 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, Brown carried over his momentum with a team-high 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and three steals.

When Kidd was questioned about how tough it would be for Brown to plan forward, his response was unambiguous.”Well, Jaylen’s their best player,” Kidd said during Saturday’s media availability. “Just looking at what he does defensively. He picked up Luka full court. He got to the free throw line. He did everything, and that’s what your best player does. Just understanding he plays both sides defensively and offensively at a high rate, and he’s been doing that the whole playoffs.

“We talk about the Eastern Conference MVP, and it seems like he’s continued to pick up where he left off. So he’s playing at a high rate. We just got to be a little more physical with him and again, we gotta keep him off the free throw line and out of the paint, because he was finishing at a high rate or getting fouled and getting to the free throw line.”

Brown has been Boston’s most consistent player throughout the playoff run thus far, even if he doesn’t garner the accolades like his teammate and first-team All-NBA selection Jayson Tatum.

Regardless, the Celtics will need both Brown and Tatum to be at their best in order to capture the franchise’s 18th title this month.

Game 2 between the Celtics and Mavericks is set for 8 p.m. ET on Sunday at TD Garden in Boston.

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NBA analyst reveals grim reason why Mavericks could be doomed in Finals

The Dallas Mavericks are in the Finals for the first time since 2011 when Dirk Nowitzki led the franchise to its first-ever championship. After a Western Conference Finals trip in 2022 and missing out on the 2023 Play-In Tournament, which may been planned all along by coach Jason Kidd and the front office, the team is finally back on the championship stage.

But in the way of the Mavs and the Larry O’Brien Trophy are the Boston Celtics. With 14 additional victories at the end of the regular season, the Eastern Conference Champions present a formidable challenge for Luka Doncic and company.

Should Dallas win, it will be the first team with the worst regular-season record to win the postseason since the Houston Rockets, who finished 47-35 (.573) in the 1994–1995 season, before winning the championship again.

Kenny Smith reveals grim reason why Mavericks could be doomed in Finals

Part of that Rockets squad was Kenny Smith, who currently works as a TNT analyst. He also offered a bleak prediction for the Mavs before Game 1 of the Finals, saying that Boston should be favored to come out on top of the series because it has “everything you need this year to win a championship.”

According to the “Inside the NBA” host, the Celtics have a better roster than Dallas because they have five stars or fringe stars in Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis. Smith also argued that a squad whose “fifth-best” player, which he stated can sometimes be Porzingis, is as good as the “first-best” guy on most bad teams in the league should go all the way.

That doesn’t sound too promising for the Mavs.

The good news for Dallas is that it has arguably the best player in the series: Doncic. Even though Tatum has Despite having assisted in leading the Celtics to three consecutive conference finals, his record is still well short of the Slovenian superstar’s, who has been selected five times for the All-NBA First Team.

Furthermore, “Luka Magic” has no shortage of experience competing under duress, having won the 2018 EuroLeague Championship with Real Madrid at the age of just 19.

Not to mention that the Mavs have a deeper bench that can annihilate the Celtics and Kyrie Irving, who is playing in his fourth NBA Finals.

Boston might seemingly be more top-heavy. However, compared to their Celtics counterparts, Dallas’ reserves have exceeded in the 2024 NBA Playoffs in terms of points (23.4 to 19.6), rebounds (13.3 to 11.0), assists (4.8 to 3.9), steals (1.9 to 1.1), and blocks (1.6 to 1.1).

Despite losing Game 1, Dallas shouldn’t be alarmed. They also forfeited their first-round series losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers, but everyone is aware of how those series ended. Furthermore, it is now evident that P.J. Washington must step up as an X-factor and develop into the Mavericks’ third star in the making if they are to defeat Boston.

Keep reading to learn more about the Dallas Mavericks’ quest for a championship.