The Opening Tip

• Joe Mazzulla, on the national stage

• The last time the Mavs were in the Finals …

• Some Mavs-Celtics notes

NBA Finals Game 1

You gotta give.

1. Who said it: Joe Mazzulla or someone from ‘The Dark Knight’?

A lot of people in the build-up to the NBA Finals are getting their first taste of Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics’ vaguely terrifying head coach who routinely says things like, ‘How could you not go to Fenway and think you couldn’t rob it?’

And he’s lived up to the hype (said enough insane shit) over the last week to warrant a new game: Who said it: Joe Mazzulla or someone from ‘The Dark Knight’?

Directions: Read quote. Click to guess.

1. ‘Sometimes the truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded’ 

• Joe Mazzulla

• The Dark Knight

2. ‘I would say this is not the end of the journey. The journey is for however long you’re alive’

• Joe Mazzulla

• The Dark Knight

3. ‘We're all villains in someone's eyes’

• Joe Mazzulla

• The Dark Knight

4. ‘You don't want to die, but you don't know how to take a life’

• Joe Mazzulla

• The Dark Knight

5. ‘What seems to be good might not always be good. And what seems to be bad might not always be bad’

• Joe Mazzulla

• The Dark Knight

[READ: LeBron James calls Celtics' coach Joe Mazzulla 'a f*****g genius']

2. Daily GIF: Remember when Jason Terry kinda outplayed LeBron in the 2011 NBA Finals?

The further we get from the 2011 NBA Finals, the more it feels like a dream.

Also: This is apparently the highest quality clip of this play on the internet. Don’t blame us.

[WATCH: Mavs-Heat Game 6 highlights]

3. Trivia

4. Five things about the NBA Finals

1. The Mavericks have completed 54 alley-oops this postseason. Denver has the next most with nine. Win or lose, Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington and/or Derrick Lively are going to yam all over Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and/or Luke Kornet.

2. The Celtics are favorites in Vegas’s eyes but underdogs in public opinion. FanDuel has them at -225 to win the series; 89% of bets at this book are on the Mavs to the series and the majority of ESPN writers are on the Mavs.

3. Kristaps Porzingis is going to start. The Celtics have no one on their injury list.

4. Al Horford is two games from sole possession of second place on the list of most playoff games played without a title.

5. It’s simply impossible to overstate the importance of this series for the Celtics. If they win, several numbers will be retired and several Hall of Fame cases will be stamped. If they lose, it will have been six ECFs and two Finals in eight years without a ring. Not sure how much longer you keep morale up after that many playoff runs without getting over the hump.

[READ: The three biggest Game 1 storylines]

Quick hits

• The new ‘Clipped’ show on Hulu probably deserves its own segment, but, for now, just know this is who they cast as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. 

• Nepotism in the NBA comes in many forms. 

• Someone in connection with the Jontay Porter betting scandal was arrested trying to leave the country on Tuesday. 

• The Lakers are trying to lure Dan Hurley from UConn. 

• Former NBA player Chase Budinger just made the Olympics as a volleyball player. 

• Offseason Nikola Jokic update.

Reads

• The Detroit Pistons were my father's second family [New Yorker]

• NBA nears $76 billion TV deal [Wall Street Journal]

• The Boston Celtics and what greatness looks like [New Yorker]

• The seven commandments of scoring in the NBA playoffs [The Ringer]

• Lakers’ pursuit of JJ Redick gets even funnier, in that they are now pursuing Dan Hurley [Defector]

That's the buzzer.
Thanks for reading the 388th edition of The Grip.