Mavericks must use Joe Mazzulla's questionable remark to fuel them

On Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks came out extremely slow and lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics by a score of 107-89 on the road.

Boston's notoriously known rowdy crowd was involved early, as the Celtics were bombing threes left and right. The Celtics crowd was also continuously booing Kyrie Irving, and despite Irving saying he didn't think the crowd was that loud, he seemed rattled and not ready to play.

The brights seemed too bright for some of Dallas' role players, as many of the Mavs were passing out of open shots and forcing shots around the rim despite Kristaps Porzingis being down there.

Mavericks must use Joe Mazzulla's lights 'aren't any brighter' remark to fuel them

Speaking of bright lights, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked how his team can stay in the moment even with the brighter lights and the bigger stage of the NBA Finals before Game 1. Mazzulla shrugged this question off casually, and he didn't seem worried about the Mavs at all.

"Unless they changed the lightbulbs in the arena, they won't be any brighter than they were last series," Mazzulla said.

Mazzulla was saying this to point to how the same things that won Boston games during the regular season and earlier in the playoffs will still earn them wins now, but on the other hand, some Mavs fans took this statement to heart.

They thought that Mazzulla saying this was a little disrespectful to the Mavs, especially considering that this is the NBA Finals now, and Dallas must use Mazzulla taking them lightly to their advantage. Dallas can't come out flat and let the bright lights get to them like they did in Game 1, and they must make Mazzulla eat his words.

Mazzulla coming out and saying this before the series started was definitely a bold approach, but his take aged fine for Boston in Game 1. The Celtics came out with great energy and were unfazed by the big stage, and the Mavericks seemingly were.

If the Mavs can win Game 2, they will be in a great position heading back to Dallas for Games 3 and 4. Mazzulla seemingly taking them lightly shouldn't sit lightly in the locker room, regardless of if his statement was literal or not.

If Luka Doncic can string together another great game and if Kyrie Irving can bounce back from his Game 1 struggles, Dallas will be just fine.

For all the latest on Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, and the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, stay tuned.