Wiggins details how Mavs can stop Celtics defensively in Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Andrew Wiggings knows a thing or two about slowing down the Boston Celtics’ offense.
In the 2022 NBA Finals, the Warriors forward slowed down Celtics star wing Jayson Tatum en route to Golden State’s 4-2 series victory.
Wiggins explained how the Dallas Mavericks can stop the Celtics’ fiery offense, which has the league’s highest rating (119.6) during the 2024 NBA playoffs, in talking to Sportsnet’s Amit Mann and Esfandiar Baraheni on Friday.
“I would say make them uncomfortable,” Wiggins said to Mann and Baraheni. “That’s the main thing, making someone uncomfortable. A great player always has one or two moves — their go-to moves, but let’s see if you can make them do that third or fourth or fifth option, how is that going to look like? Keep them uncomfortable.
“Keep that body on them [and] try to wear them down. That was my goal.”
Wiggins served as Tatum’s primary defender in 2022.
While guarding the current face of Boston’s franchise for 51 minutes and 42 seconds, Wiggins limited Tatum to 37.5-percent shooting (21-for-56) and forced eight turnovers.
Tatum finished the series shooting 36.7 percent from the field and averaged 21.5 points, 7 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Comparatively, Wiggins averaged 18.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 44.6-percent shooting during the 2022 finals.
Yet, the Mavericks will have their hands full in this year’s finals.
In 2024, Tatum is averaging 26 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists on 44.2-percent shooting in 14 postseason games. Fellow Boston wing Jaylen Brown has been no slouch either, having averaged 25.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists on a dominant 54.1-percent clip.
Brown also averaged 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists against Golden State in the 2022 finals, and he shot a better 43.1 percent compared to Tatum’s 36.7.
Dallas had a tough journey to the finals, taking down the aging LA Clippers in the first round, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the No.1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinal…
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