Celtics Expect Mavericks To Come Out ‘Aggressive’ In Game 2

The Boston Celtics may have won Game 1 of the NBA Finals convincingly, but that doesn’t mean they expect to roll over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.

“They’re definitely a team that is going to come out swinging, much, much more aggressive,” Celtics center Al Horford told reporters after the team’s practice on Saturday, per league-provided transcripts. “For us, to be able to come out with the same energy and continue to play at a high level like we’ve been doing.”

Horford added: “It presents its own challenges. I know that they are going to come out very aggressive, and we are, as well. It’s just one of those things that we have to make sure that we just stay the course. Emotions are obviously going to be high. The biggest thing is making sure we are as prepared as we can be and ready to go (Sunday).”

The Celtics and Mavericks couldn’t be any different in Games 1 and 2 during their playoff runs. Boston won its first three opening games but failed to defeat Miami and Cleveland in the second game. The Celtics won both games against the Pacers.

Dallas, on the other hand, dropped the first game against the Clippers and Thunder only to win the second game. They won both games against Minnesota.

“Every series is different. Every game is different,” Horford said. “For us, we understand it’s a big challenge. We are not really thinking about the past. We have to focus on this Game 2 and make sure we do the same things we need to do to put ourselves in position to win a game.”