TD Garden — Well, that was wild. Nearly every Celtics and Mavericks player spoke to the media as reporters from around the world swarmed TD Garden on the day before Game 1 of the Finals.
We watched snippets of the Celtics practice – albeit not much – as well as the tail-end of the Mavericks’. There was a palpable excitement in the air, a distinct feeling in TD Garden that made it obvious the NBA Finals were around the corner.
Here are five things you need to know from NBA Finals Media Day.
Kristaps Porzingis is officially AVAILABLE for Game 1
First, most objectively important: Kristaps Porzingis is available to play.
“I will play tomorrow,” Kristaps Porzingis confirmed to a large swath of reporters that swarmed the podium he was at.
But will he be himself?
“It’s tough to say. I haven’t played. I haven’t played for a while. Tomorrow will be my real, like, first real minutes in a while, you know? I did as much as I could to prepare for this moment, but there’s nothing like game minutes and game experience that I’m going to get tomorrow. It will be tough to jump into the Finals like this. I did everything I could to prepare for it and we’ll see tomorrow night.”
The Celtics confirmed Kristaps Porzingis’s statement shortly after – no players are listed on the team’s official injury report.
It’s going to be really hard to guard Luka and Kyrie
Holiday was asked about what he can do to try and stop Kyrie Irving, and his first answer was a joking one:
“Pray.”
Then, he noted that familiarity with Irving’s game will help, but echoed Mazzulla’s sentiment from earlier in the week that there’s really no way to ‘stop’ the Mavericks’ elite back-court.
“Just I think knowing each other’s game, doing your best to stay in front of him, trying to take away the things that will probably hurt you the most,” Holiday said. “Probably most of all having help. Him being able to see multiple guys on the court, making it look like it’s crowded, making shots as tough as possible, even though he’s a tough shot-maker, so…” He trailed off.
Jaylen Brown has studied previous failures to be ready for this opportunity
Jaylen Brown has maintained that though he’s reflected on his individual growth since the last time the Celtics were in the Finals, the teams themselves are completely different.
“We got a different team,” Brown said. “We got a different coach, too, as well. We had Ime Udoka; now we have Joe Mazzulla. We had Marcus Smart, Rob Williams; we have Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis. Different team, different coach two years later makes a pretty big difference.”
Still, he’s gone back and watched the footage of both series that ended his last two seasons.
Jaylen Brown on how often he rewatches the ‘22 Finals loss:
“I’ve watched it a few times now, maybe four or five times. As well as last year’s conference finals. I think you can always learn from anything really. But just being able to watch those moments and learn from them.” pic.twitter.com/ZPKOvvuCuM
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) June 5, 2024
“I’ve watched it [2022 Finals] a few times now, maybe four or five times,” Brown said. “As well as last year’s conference finals. I think you can always learn from anything really. But just being able to watch those moments and learn from them, how to manage your emotions, like, what you would have did differently potentially. I don’t think that’s bad to look at and acknowledge and be aware of.”
Joe Mazzulla reflects on Jayson Tatum as a franchise player: ‘There’s no one like him’
Joe Mazzulla has heaped plenty of his praise on his superstars this year, and tends to reference their off-court character, too. On the eve of the NBA Finals, he only reinforced that.
“Your franchise player has to be a cornerstone of what you do,” Mazzulla said. “It starts with his high character, the way he carries himself, who he is as a dad, who he is as a teammate. His availability. He’s there for every single practice, every single game. Loves being coached. Just carries himself the best way. There’s no one like him. He’s great.”
Tatum has reflected quite a bit over this 9-day break on his growth since the ‘22 Finals, and his coach references that growth today.
“He’s been through success, we’ve been through failures, we’ve won, lost, had pain, triumph,” Mazzulla said. “You use the things you’ve been through every single year to make yourself better on and off the court. That’s kind of where we’re all at as a team, using those goods and bads to use us for where we are right now.
Jayson Tatum (and the rest of the Celtics) are living in the moment
It’s always been championship or bust for the 2024 Boston Celtics. But everyone expressed a sincere joy to have the chance to compete for a championship on the brightest stage.
“I don’t think about the future or what this may mean for me down the road,” Jayson Tatum said. “As simple as it sounds, just try to stay present, stay in the moment, enjoy it, right? Keep talking about pressure, pressure, pressure… It’s the NBA Finals. This s— is supposed to be fun. That’s kind of where I’m at with it.”
“I’m in the NBA Finals. I have a second opportunity to win a championship. I want to enjoy it. I want to enjoy the moment, enjoy it with my teammates and my family. So that’s where my narrow focus is at, is about competing at a high level, finally getting to play tomorrow, just having fun. Just going out there and doing what I love to do.”
Bonus Content: We didn’t get to see much of practice, but we did see that NBA players stretch and warm up just like regular people.
Except for Luke Kornet.
