TEAM EFFORT GIVES CELTICS THE EDGE

Allen says Boston have more balance; Mavs lack third option but comeback still possible

- David Lee

With a league-high regular-season scoring average of 33.9 points, Luka Doncic was one of three nominees for the Most Valuable Player of this National Basketball Association (NBA) season.

But despite having one of the best players on the planet in the Slovenian, the Dallas Mavericks still find themselves trailing 2-0 to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Notably, the Celtics do not have a single player in contention for the major awards this season, nor are they represented among the top-five season leaders in any of the key statistics in terms of points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals or three-pointers made.

Ahead of Game 3 on June 13 (Singapore time), legendary shooting guard Ray Allen, who won the championship with the Celtics in 2008 and Miami Heat in 2013, told The Straits Times: “Whoever is leading the team in scoring is irrelevant. You got to put your ego aside because it’s not about individual statistics. It’s about who can get the job done.”

And at the moment, the Celtics look most equipped to win their 18th title and move one ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers as the most successful team in NBA history, as they have brought their regular season-winning form into the play-offs.