Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks injury updates ahead of Game 1

A seat at the TD Garden in Boston is currently the hottest ticket in town as the Celtics face the Mavs in Game 1

Paul Reidy

Paul Reidypaulreidy67Update: Jun 6th, 2024 02:50 EDT

Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks

DAVID BERDINGAFP

The Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks are set to meet in the 2024 NBA Finals starting this Thursday at the TD Garden, and the Celtics fans are expectant ahead of a potentially historic series. The Beantown side are currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers on 17 NBA titles a piece, and a win over Dallas would see the team in green become the most successful franchise in league history.

MAVERICKS. CELTICS. 🍿The #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV are officially set!Game 1: Thursday, June 6th at 8:30pm/et on ABC pic.twitter.com/9U9ng7hAjr

— NBA (@NBA) May 31, 2024

Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with a team packed full of talent in every department, Boston eased past the competition in the regular season. They went 64-18, taking the one seed in the East, and finished with the top record in the league, which earned them the right to host Game 1 of the Finals at TD Garden.

The Dallas Mavericks finished the regular season as the fifth placed team in the West, but raced up the standings once Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic finally found the chemistry that had been eluding them since the guard moved to Texas in the middle of last season.

Luka Doncic #77 celebrates with Kyrie Irving #11of the Dallas Mavericks Full screen

Luka Doncic #77 celebrates with Kyrie Irving #11of the Dallas Mavericks DAVID BERDINGAFP

Injury concerns ahead of Game 1

Boston come into the opening game boasting a team free of injury and the good news for Celtics fans is the return of Kristaps Porzingis with the Latvian star missing the past 10 games due to a right soleus (calf) strain. The 28-year-old will be ready to play in Game 1, but he’s unsure if he will be operating at 100 percent.

More:  Why isn’t Kirstaps Porzingis playing against the Mavericks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals?

#NEBHInjuryReport for tomorrow vs. Dallas:No injuries to report 👀

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 5, 2024

“I did as much as I could to prepare for this moment, but there’s nothing like game minutes and game experience that I’m going to get (Thursday),” Porzingis said. “It will be tough to jump into the Finals like this.”

together through it all ☘️ pic.twitter.com/TJpi7Pi9fz

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 6, 2024

Dallas doubts

Dallas can’t claim an injury free team ahead of Game 1 but there’s a sliver of hope that Olivier-Maxence Prosper may see some action after his injury status changed from ‘out’ to questionable. The Canadian has been missing from every postseason game so far with an ankle problem, so his upgrade to questionable is a positive step for Mavs fans.