Now that the Boston Celtics took Game 1 over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals on Thursday night, we finally got to see how the matchups look. Of course, each team are going to make adjustments but here’s some takeaways heading into Game 2 on Sunday.

Jaylen Brown has taken all criticism to heart

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 22 points, but it was moreso about when and how he made big plays is what’s more impressive. On Thursday, Brown stripped Luka Doncic, blocked Kyrie Irving, got a posterizer in the first half, and defended not only the paint well but the perimeter. He also appeared to be the vocal leader on the team that got the C’s back on track after the Mavs went on a run in the third quarter. After not making an All NBA Team, Brown dropped 40 points against the Pacers in the series before, that same series it was Brown who made a big corner three-pointer to take the game into overtime in which the C’s eventually swept Indiana. Brown isn’t messing around, it’s clear he’s willing to do whatever needed to win.

Mavericks front court is undersized and non-experienced

As easy as it is to place blame on Kyrie Irving only dropping 12 points, it’s about the big men on the Mavs roster and their inability to score. With Kristaps Porzingis on the floor, guys such as P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., and Daniel Gafford are undersized. Mavs are unable to get many second chance baskets and aren’t able to trust their big men to score on the block. Now of course nobody should expect Washington and Irving to shoot as poorly as they did, but it’s no coincidence that they struggled. Luka only having one assist is an attest to the Celtics focusing on the pieces around Luka and making sure they don’t score and letting Luka take the 1v1 matchup.

Celtics taking pride in 1v1 defense

Going into this series, many analysts questioned how the Celtics were going to guard the offensive dominance of Irving and Doncic. Game 1 showed that the C’s are switching on the pick and rolls, not electing to double team or overload. Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Brown, and Al Hoford all took a shot at guarding Luka by themselves and saw much luck, the same with Irving. That’s not to say that whenever a Mavs driver went to the basket the Celtics didn’t help out, but with Porzingis protecting the paint, it makes it tough for the Mavs to find success. Besides Washington, none of their other big men can really shoot the ball from deep. So far the matchup favors the Celtics.

Kristaps Porzingis is a real game changer

Looking at the 37-20 first quarter the Celtics had, I forgot for a second just how dominant Boston was before Porzingis was injured with a calf injury. With Porzingis, his 7’2 frame was a clear advantage on not only defense but offense for the C’s. Porzingis was scoring on all three levels: he scored off the elbow, knocked down deep balls when in rhythm, and a dunk. He looked a bit gassed at times, but I expect him to get back into shape as the series continues. Dallas will look to make some adjustments, but they don’t have anyone on their roster with the same height or that can score on him in the paint.

This series is far from over

If the Mavericks’ run in the third quarter to cut the lead to eight points didn’t show you anything, it’s that this series can change at any moment. It seemed that Luka started to find his stride within the pick and roll as he began to knock down shots. Kyrie Irving won’t score 12 points in this series again, he’ll be better and so will Washington. The 25% deep shooting the Mavs did shouldn’t be expected to see again. Also, there were some successful possessions on defense for the Mavs that they can takeaway going into Game 2.