Mavericks' newfound rivalry with Celtics showing early signs of greatness

After the Dallas Mavericks' appearance in the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years, the sky is the limit in terms of opportunities that can follow in the future.

We've seen words from members of the Celtics since they won their championship.

Some of those words haven't been respectful toward the Mavericks.

Could this be the start of a historic rivalry that we've seen before?

Celtics-Mavericks could be the new Cavaliers-Warriors rivalry

The Dallas Mavericks had a tough road to the NBA Finals.

They had to get past the LA Clippers who were always their kryptonite of the past. The Oklahoma City Thunder had a rising future MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and their toughness proved to be too much for the young OKC squad. The Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Anthony Edwards proved to play some of his best basketball, but co-star Karl Anthony Towns shut himself down in the series.

The Boston Celtics felt like the Golden State Warriors of the past. They were the best team in the league all year. The NBA media mostly predicted in the beginning of the season that Boston would be the East representative in the NBA Finals.

Unlike Dallas's journey, Boston's road was criticized for going against teams with injuries on the opposite end. Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Bennedict Mathurin, and Tyrese Haliburton were all out with injuries, respectively. The East had a lot going on with injuries, and to be fair, Porzingis was out as well.

Back in 2015, Kevin Love went down for Cleveland early in the playoffs because of a shoulder injury colliding with Kelly Olynyk. This was a tough road for Cleveland, and they were already up against a stronger Golden State team.

Dallas was up against four All-Stars against Boston. While the Mavs dominated Game 4 of the series, there was no chance for Dallas to come back down 3-0.

In the offseason, Jayson Tatum has since fueled some fire claiming that Denver was the only team that felt could match up to their level. He also gave some respect on the Mavericks with a bold claim telling Jimmy Fallon that the Celtics will meet the Mavs again in the 2025 NBA Finals.

Dallas should be motivated to swing back at Boston. Especially after Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla gave more credit to the Pacers than anyone else. The Mavericks actually held Boston to their lowest scoring average in the playoffs during the NBA Finals. The Pacers had at least three opportunities to beat Boston and possibly advance, they just couldn't finish games.

Mazzulla's claim is legitimate, but this should set a fire to the Mavericks for next season.

Porzingis and Irving both have fan bases on opposite sides that aren't very kind towards their respective opponents, and this might up the ante with any future rivalry that may happen. Tatum and Luka Doncic on their respective sides are very comparable to James and Curry back in the day.

That's why we could very well see these two teams meeting each other a lot in the future.