Heading into the 2024 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics appeared to be the clear favorite. They posted the best overall record in the league and only lost two playoff games prior to the championship round. Vegas thought they’d win too, yet many media members disagreed.
Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum was surprised to see a myriad of talking heads pick the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks to prevail in the Finals. The five-time All-Star wondered if the rationale for promoting a potential upset was legitimate, per “Starting 5” on Netflix.
“People have their own opinions,” he stated. “I didn’t know if, for lack of better terms, they were trolling. Slightly disrespectful takes about me or about what I’ve accomplished or what they think I can or can’t do, or they really thought that the Mavs were gonna beat us.”
Prominent basketball analysts like Stephen A. Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and others voiced their confidence in the Mavs ahead of the Finals. Although this perplexed Tatum, he didn’t mind having some doubters.
“I guess it felt good to be the underdog,” he revealed. “First time in a while.”
Boston was the overwhelming favorite in all of its previous series. The C’s extinguished the Miami Heat in five games, crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, and swept the Indiana Pacers in four games. Their dominance in the Eastern Conference Finals led to a lengthy break between that semifinal series and the Finals, making Tatum restless.
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