Andrew Wiggins details how Mavericks can guard Celtics

The Warriors would not have won the 2022 NBA Finals if not for the contributions of Andrew Wiggins, who played lockdown defense on Jayson Tatum in that year's championship series. As the primary defender on Tatum, Wiggins held the Celtics star to subpar 37 percent shooting, which proved vital to Golden State bouncing back from a 2-1 deficit to close out the series in six games. 

Nearly two years later, Wiggins will be home watching the Celtics return to the finals stage against the Mavericks. While the Celtics have undergone a drastic roster overhaul since 2022, several of their key pieces — Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Al Horford — remain on the team that finished the 2023-24 regular season with the greatest offensive rating in NBA history (123.2).

In a recent interview with Sportsnet, Wiggins was asked if he had any advice for Dallas on stopping Boston's high-octane offense.

"I would say make them uncomfortable," Wiggins responded. "That's the main thing, making someone uncomfortable. A great player [like Tatum] always has one or two moves — their go-to moves, but let's see if you can make them do that third or fourth or fifth option, how is that going to look like? Keep them uncomfortable. Keep that body on them [and] try to wear them down. That was my goal."

The question beckons: do the Mavericks have the defensive personnel to slow down the Celtics? Thus far in the playoffs, Jason Kidd's team has answered the bell. The Mavericks held the Thunder to just 106 points per game in their six-game conference semifinal series. In comparison, OKC averaged 120.1 points per game in the regular season, which ranked third behind only the Celtics and Pacers. 

Dallas has two athletic wing defenders in P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones whom they can call upon to check Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Boston's top two scorers. Will they shut down the Celtics' 1-2 punch? Probably not. However, they could make things relatively difficult. As has been proven repeatedly in the modern NBA, defense is a team concept. And Dallas is a very tightly-knit group entering the finals.