NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg believes Kristaps Porzingis may feel extra motivation to get right on the court for the Boston Celtics if the Dallas Mavericks advance past the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Western Conference Finals to the NBA Finals.
"The one thing I will say, it's Dallas on that other side. A little bit of motivation after it didn't work out there with Luka (Doncic)," Forsberg said. "And I wonder, not only personnel-wise do they need him in this series because of how good some of their bigs (Daniel) Gafford and (Dereck) Lively are gonna be around the basket, but just in general, I think he's gonna look across the court and go, 'I got blamed for this not working? That ain't cool.'"
Porzingis was scapegoated for the Mavs being eliminated in the first round of the postseason during Rick Carlisle's final two years as Dallas's head coach. His fit with Luka Doncic always seemed like it'd go smoother than it did, and injuries kept the Latvian big man out of the lineup frequently; a reoccurring theme in his career after his ACL tear while with the New York Knicks in 2018.
Revenge the primary narrative of a Boston Celtics-Dallas Mavericks NBA Finals series
No team has ever overcome a three-game deficit in any series throughout NBA history, so most are speaking about a Celtics-Mavs series like it's a certainty.
And once it becomes the matchup, the narratives will be strong and ubiquitous.
Not only do you have the Porzingis-Mavs angle, but you have Kyrie Irving standing in the way of the core (Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford) he held down for two years and their first NBA Championship together. Then there's the Luka-Tatum debate -- which should handily replace the Tatum-Anthony Edwards debate after a highly disappointing WCF from the Minnesota guard -- and the battle of Jason Kidd and Joe Mazzulla, two men who were once doubted but are now undeniable.
Celtics-Mavericks is the matchup NBA executives likely want. It's certainly the matchup the Houdini is anxious to witness.