Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (0) drives past Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford (21) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, March 1, 2024, in Boston.
We're a day away from the start of the NBA Finals, and members of the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks stepped in front of the cameras to take questions from reporters.
Mavericks players and coach Jason Kidd sat down first, followed by Celtics players and coach Joe Mazzulla.
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Game 1 will take place Thursday night at TD Garden. It's the Celtics' second trip to the Finals in three seasons.
We break down key comments the media comments below.
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Celtics star Jayson Tatum
ON THE 2022 FINALS: "I hate that I had to go through it, I wish we would have won, but I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a reason. There's a lesson to be learned in every situation. And I do, I feel a lot different this time around."
ON BEING THE MOST SCRUTINIZED NBA PLAYER THIS SEASON: "Think so?"
ON HOW HE DEALT WITH THE SCRUTINY: "I think moreso than me, it's like, my mom, my grandma, my family and friends, they're more bothered by it than me. And I understand, if Deuce was to make it to the NBA and people were talking about him everyday, as a parent, I wouldn't be able to separate the superstar from the child. So my mom took it maybe a little tougher than I did, but me, I don't take it personal."
DOES IT HELP YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE FRANCHISE? "Honestly, it's like, I don't think about the future or what this may mean for me down the road. As simple as it sounds, it's trying to say present, in the moment … I'm in the NBA Finals, I have a second opportunity to win a championship, and I want to enjoy it, I want to enjoy the moment, enjoy it with my teammates, enjoy it with my family.
BIGEST LESSON FROM 2022: "I give a lot of credit to that team, the Warriors. I think we understood what it took to get there, they understood what it took to get over the hump. That was a real special team that didn't make any mistakes … in some of those tough moments, when I go back and look, you can tell that they'd been there before."
"I told myself that if I got the opportunity again to make it to the NBA Finals that I'd never take it for granted."
Celtics star Jaylen Brown
ON 2022: "We learned from those experiences. we got a different team, we got a different coach … two years later makes a pretty big difference."
ON HOW OFTEN HE LOOKED BACK AT 2022: "I've watched it a few times now, maybe three or four times … I think you can always learn from anything, really, but just being able to watch those moments and learn from them, being able to manage your emotions and what you would have done differently, potentially, I don't think that's bad to look at."
ON STARS' HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY: "I think it's fair to say that it does affect you … You get to a point where you get scrutinized enough for a large part of your career and it becomes normal and it just rolls off you. for me at least, I don't know if Jayson feels the same way, it's kind of been like that my whole career, from being booed to being drafted to saying you were overpaid to saying you were overpaid again."
ON THIS YEAR'S TEAM: "I think this is a special group, I really do. The core group has been here a few years now, we've been able to go through the experiences of having success but not having success at the same time."
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis
ON WHETHER HE'S READY TO RETURN FROM INJURY: "That's tough to say, I haven't played. I haven't played for a while. Tomorrow will be my first real minutes for a while. … It'll be tough to jump into the finals like this, but I did everything I could to prepare for it."
ON LUKA DONCIC AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP: "Luka es un grandissimo jugador." (Luka is a really great player)
"It's good, it's always been good. He's one of the best players in the league, in the world. It'll be a tough challenge for us to try and stop him."
ON HOW HE EXPECTS TO FEEL RETURNING TO THE COURT: "It's going to be special, it's going to be goosebumps for sure. I'm really, really looking forward to it."
ON HOW HIS TIME WITH THE MAVERICKS ENDED: "It just didn't work out but I have nothing but love for Dallas, the players, everybody."
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd
ON STAR LUKA DONCIC: "That's why we're playing in the Finals, because of his IQ."
ON WHETHER PLAYERS NEED EXPERIENCE IN THE FINALS TO WIN: "You do have to go through defeat to understand that bad taste or how you feel, how does it make you feel, to work on your game to get better."
"Some of us for the Mavs have been here, some of us haven't, and we're going to find a way to try and win the series."
Mavs guard Dante Exum
ON HIS PATH TO THE FINALS: "You always dream of it but I think just being a kid from Australia, even getting to the NBA is a big thing."
ON CELTICS FANS, AND HOW THEY MAY REACT TO KYRIE IRVING: "They're just passionate, and I love it … it's going to be the same in Dallas, and it's going to be a fun series of competitiveness."
Mavs star Luka Doncic
ON KYRIE IRVING: "He's keeping us all together and motivated."
ON THE TD GARDEN CROWD: "It's hard to play in this place, the crowd is amazing for their team."
Mavs forward P.J. Washington
ON THE PHRASE 'STANDING ON BUSINESS': "We're just trying to come in here, handle business and get four wins."
Mavs star Kyrie Irving
ON LEBRON JAMES' RECENT COMPLIMENTARY COMMENTS: "When he says comments like that, I just think back to us both having those moments … and we're really demanding greatness from each other, and off the court, our families just really meshing well."
ON HOW HE'S APPROACHING THE FINALS AS AN OLDER PLAYER: "It is a fleeting feeling. Just to be real with you, there are so many peers of mien that have spent long years in the NBA just trying to get to the finals … I had the chance to do it in my fourth year, my fifth year, my sixth year, and when I look back at those memories, never regretful of how I treated it but a little disappointed how I approached that success."
"Basketball's been a great teacher for me but life has been an even better one."
ON THE BOSTON CROWD: "I've experienced Boston in two folds … You just gotta breathe through it. To all my young'ns out there that are dealing with some of the crowd noise … this is not as hostile as you think it is, don't overthink it."
"The fans are going to say what they're going to say, and I appreciate them."
ON PLAYING AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAMMATES: "They've gotten tremendously better, they've led their team to this point so I'm proud of them, and I'm looking forward to the competition, because this is what we've all strived for as kids."
