Jaylen Brown received three first place votes and one second, and Jayson Tatum received two second place votes.
“Look, (White and Holiday) got the vote, but one of the things that’s been great this year is the guys’ ability to defend at a very high level,” Mazzulla said. “So everyone takes their match personally.”
In previous seasons, the All-Defensive teams included two guards, two forwards and a center. This year, for the first time, there were no position requirements and all five members of the first team were first-court players – Timberwolves center Rudy GobertHeat Center Bam AdebayoSpurs center Victor WembanyamaPelicans forward Herb Jonesand the Lakers forward Anthony Davis.
Wembanyama became the first player in NBA history to make the league’s All-Defensive First Team as a rookie. It appeared on 98 of the 99 ballots cast.
“Coming into this league, he obviously had high expectations because he’s 7-3 and shoots threes from behind. I think a lot of people paid more attention to that than what he actually did on the defensive end,” Adebayo said of Wembanyama. “So for him to be in the first team, it’s obviously a big reward for him.”
The All-NBA team will be announced Wednesday. If Wembanyama makes this team, he would be the first rookie to win this distinction since Tim Duncan did it 26 years ago.
White and Holiday finished third and fourth, respectively, in voting among guards.
“Those two guys, night in and night out, they guard different guys, they have different matchups and coverages,” Mazzulla said. “So the way they impacted the game defensively was great.”
We meet again
The Eastern Conference Finals is actually the second playoff game between the Celtics and Pacers this season. On December 4, Indiana defeated Boston, 122-112, in the quarterfinals of the season opener.
Although the conference finals are considerably larger, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he thought his young team would benefit from its in-season tournament, which ended with a loss in the title game to the Lakers.
“These experiences help, for sure,” Carlisle said. “There were real playoff simulations. Our quarterfinal game at home on a Monday night against (the Celtics) had the feel of a conference final game atmosphere. . . There was definitely the exposition, the stage, all that. So all these experiences help a young team.
Still, Carlisle knows the top-seeded Celtics will pose a tough challenge.
“These guys have been the favorites all year to win it all,” he said. “They ran away with the Eastern Conference. They’ve been dominant, so it’s a huge task. It’s clear. So we just have to try to make it as difficult for them as possible.
Porzingis update
Celtics Center Kristaps Porzingis remained out of Game 1 due to a calf strain he suffered in Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs against the Heat on April 29. Porzingis has not yet returned to practice, but the organization is optimistic that he could be cleared to play. full contact soon. Backup Center Xavier Tillman I missed the first match for personal reasons.
Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report.
Adam Himmelsbach can be contacted at [email protected]. follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
