Two teams remaining. One to remain standing as NBA champions.

The 2024 NBA Finals begin Thursday, June 6 in Boston, M.A. The Boston Celtics, the prohibitive favorites, hosting the Dallas Mavericks, the unlikely Western Conference champion.

The Celtics are playing in their 23rd NBA Finals, and have prevailed 17 times. The Mavericks, league champions in 2011, are playing in their third NBA Finals (the team lost in six games to the Miami Heat in 2006).

The Celtics got here with 64 regular season wins, leading the Eastern Conference by an astounding 14 games. The Mavericks got here with 50 regular wins, fifth in the Western Conference.

In round one, the Celtics disposed of the Miami Heat in five games. In round two, they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five, and swept the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in six games in round one, the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in round two, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals.

Tale of the Tape (with League Ranks)

Points Per Game - Regular Season

Celtics 120.6 (2nd)

Mavericks 117.9 (7th)

Points Allowed - Regular Season

Celtics 109.2 (5th)

Mavericks 115.6 (20th)

Points Per Game - Playoffs

Celtics 111.4 (2nd)

Mavericks 107.9 (6th)

Points Allowed - Playoffs

Celtics 101.3 (3rd)

Mavericks 103.9 (6th)

Field Goal Percentage - Regular Season

Celtics 48.7 (tied 6th)

Mavericks 48.1 (9th)

Field Goal Percentage - Playoffs

Celtics 48.0 (3rd)

Mavericks 47.1 (5th)

3-Point Percentage - Regular Season

Celtics 38.8 (2nd)

Mavericks 36.9 (12th)

3-Point Percentage - Playoffs

Celtics 36.8 (5th)

Mavericks 37.2 (4th)

3-Point Attempts - Regular Season

Celtics 42.5 (1st)

Mavericks 39.5 (2nd)

3-Point Attempts - Playoffs

Celtics 39.8 (1st)

Mavericks 33.9 (4th)

Rebounding - Regular Season

Celtics 46.3 (2nd)

Mavericks 42.9 (21st)

Rebounding - Playoffs

Celtics 43.7 (3rd)

Mavericks 43.1 (4th)

Field Goal Percentage Allowed - Regular Season

Celtics 45.3 (2nd)

Mavericks 47.5 (20th)

Field Goal Percentage Allowed - Playoffs

Celtics 46.7 (8th)

Mavericks 44.5 (4th)

Turnovers - Regular Season

Celtics 11.3 (1st)

Mavericks 12.1 (4th)

Turnovers - Playoffs

Celtics 10.2 (2nd)

Mavericks 12.1 (9th)

Top 3 Scorers - Regular Season

Celtics: Tatum 26.9 (8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 47.1 percent, 37.6 percent from 3-point), Brown 23.0, Porzingis 20.1

Mavericks: Doncic 33.9 (1st in NBA, 9.8 assists, 9.2 rebounds), Irving 25.6, Hardaway Jr. 14.4

Top 3 Scorers - Playoffs

Celtics: Tatum 26.0 (44.2 percent from the field, 29.0 percent from 3-point, 10.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists), Brown 25.0, White 17.8

Mavericks: Doncic 28.8 (43.8 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from 3-point, 9.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists), Irving 22.8, Washington 13.6

The Match-ups

Guards: Derrick White/Jrue Holiday vs. Luka Doncic/Kyrie Irving. Advantage: Doncic/Irving.

An advantage against pretty much any back-court in the NBA, the shot-making and play-making of Doncic and Irving as a duo is rather unparalleled. White and Holiday are great defenders, but you can only contain great offensive talent to such a degree.

Forwards: Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatum vs. Derrick Jones Jr./P.J. Washington. Advantage: Brown/Tatum.

Tatum and Brown have been one of the best wing duos in the NBA for years. Their size, athletic ability and two-way offensive and defensive ability make them a very unique tandem. Jones Jr., a great athlete himself who has made strides shooting the ball, and Washington, who was a major mid-season pickup, will have their hands full. Athletically, it is a fairly even match-up, but talent wise it is a clear advantage for the Celtic pair.

Bigs: Kristaps Porzingis vs. Daniel Gafford. Advantage: Porzingis.

Porzingis expects to play after missing the past 10 games with a calf injury (he has not played since April 29). Whether he is 100 percent or not is still a question. However, the 7 foot, 2 inch one-time All-Star is a match-up problem with his ability to stretch the floor, score inside, and also protect the basket and rebound. His length should bother Gafford, who in his own right at 6 feet, 10 inches is a great shot blocker and lob threat. Porzingis though is an outside threat as well, which Gafford is not.

The backup center match-up, Al Horford vs. Dereck Lively II, is a very intriguing one. The veteran Horford, who has over the years become a very capable three-point shooter while being a defensive presence in the paint, against a young 7-footer in Lively II (7 foot, 1 inch) who is very active and can block shots. Gafford and Lively are younger, healthier, and more explosive, which might pose issues for Boston if Porzingis for some reason is still impacted by his calf and given Horford’s age (38). Getting Horford in the pick and roll defensively should be a priority for the Mavericks. Still, though, the advantage goes to the Celtics because of the overall talent and skill set of Porzingis and the experience of he and Horford together.

No one will shut down Doncic or Irving - that is something no singular defense can do. The Celtics do however have the ideal defense to counter the Mavericks’ super scorers - versatility and wing length. The Timberwolves' Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Anthony Edwards, and Jaden McDaniels all put forth valiant efforts, but all were on the smaller side compared to what the Celtics offer. The Celtics boast not just two 6 foot, 4 inch guards in White and Holiday, but a 6 foot, 6 inch, 220-pound Brown and a 6 foot, 8 inch Tatum. 6’4-6’4-6’6-6’8 as opposed to the 6’0-6’4-6’5-6’9 that Minnesota offered. Again, no one is stopping Doncic and Irving, but the Celtics at least have the bodies and the size to try their best.

The bench advantage goes to the Mavericks - with the likes of Lively, Maxi Kleber, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green countering Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet.

There are a variety of storylines to look at in this series. One is Kyrie Irving playing against his former team, a franchise that he did not have the most cordial of departures with. To add more intrigue, Irving's father Drederick played his college basketball at Boston University, from 1984-1988. Irving, born in Australia but growing up in New Jersey, can silence many of his critics with a second championship.

Can Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown get over the hump and win their first title? In their time together in Boston, they have competed at a high level, and are looking to avenge 2022's Finals' loss to the Golden State Warriors. To say that there is pressure on the duo is an understatement - 64 regular season wins, top tier offense and defense, and representing one of the most historic franchises in all of professional sports. If there was a time for them to get their first championship, this season is it.

Can international superstar Luka Doncic - 25 years old and already a five-time All-NBA, who began his professional career overseas at age 16 - reach the summit and place himself among the pantheon of a select number of NBA greats? The Mavericks are undoubtedly underdogs, but if you were to think of any tandem in the NBA that could go on a scoring barrage and defeat another great defense, this time on the biggest stage? It would be Doncic and Irving. Both are such gifted scorers with such an array of moves, impossible to defend in isolation.

Jason Kidd is also looking for his first championship as a head coach. His lone NBA title came with the Mavericks in 2011, and it would be a remarkable story if he also led the team that drafted him to a championship win as a head coach. The Celtics' Joe Mazzulla is one of the top coaches in the league as well, but the experience goes to Kidd.

As great as both Doncic and Irving are, it seems too much that this series is about Doncic and Irving versus the Celtics, two otherworldly scorers against a juggernaut on both sides of the ball. Both teams match-up well, but the Celtics, with their starting five having threats at all five positions as well as defense at all five spots, and their shooting prowess from downtown, figure to be too much for the Mavericks. Despite being a capable three-point shooting team as well, especially with Kleber back, it is difficult to envision the Mavericks upending the Celtics, a team that dominated all season long. If the Celtics do lose, it will be a major letdown for the city of Boston and a franchise that has been yearning for 16 years for their 18th championship. The series will be competitive, but the Celtics should take it.

Celtics in 6.