Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics have a 2-0 series lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, and that puts them in some great company all time.
There have been 36 teams that have led 2-0 in the NBA Finals, and they are 31-5 straight up in the series all time. Not only that, but Boston as a franchise has a 43-1 record when leading 2-0 in a playoff series, only losing in the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals.
The C’s — the finals favorite for most of the 2023-24 season — are now -800 at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the title this season heading into Game 3 in Dallas on Wednesday night.
Based on these odds, the Celtics have an implied probability of 88.89 percent to win the title this season. Dallas — at +550 — has just a 15.38 percent chance based on implied probability.
Even though Boston is going on the road in Game 3, I wouldn’t be worried as a Boston bettor.
The C’s are a perfect 6-0 straight up on the road in the playoffs, and Dallas is just 25-24 against the spread at home in the 2023-24 season.
Betting strictly on a historic trend isn’t the best way to wager on a series, but this is a great sign for bettors that are holding a Celtics future. In fact, there is one bettor that wagered $215,000 on the Celtics to win the series prior to the start of the NBA Finals.
Boston is set as a slight underdog heading into Game 3 despite being 14-2 straight up this postseason.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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The Dallas Mavericks are down two games to none against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, and Luka Doncic admitted after the Game 2 defeat on Sunday that each loss felt like a "missed opportunity."
Despite leading the game with 32 points and recording a triple-double, Doncic wasn't pleased with his own performance on Sunday night, and he took ownership for some of his sloppy play when speaking to reporters after the game.
"Every game we lose is a missed opportunity for us," said Doncic, via Joey Mistretta of ClutchPoints.
"I think my turnovers and missed free throws cost us the game. So I've got to do way better in those categories," he added, via SI's Grant Afseth.
Doncic shot an uncharacteristically poor 4 for 8 from the free throw line and turned the ball over eight times in Sunday's loss. The four missed free throws and eight turnovers were both postseason highs, and he's now 6 for 13 from the charity stripe during the NBA Finals and has as many turnovers (12) as he does assists.
Although Doncic is shouldering the blame, the 2–0 deficit is hardly his fault. The rest of the team has shot a putrid 5 for 32 from three-point territory through the first two games of the series, and Kyrie Irving has yet to connect from beyond the arc. Irving's 28 points through Games 1 and 2 were fewer than the 32 Doncic provided on Sunday night alone.
Game 3 on Wednesday night will prove crucial for Dallas as they look to claw back against the Celtics, and although Doncic noted that he'll have to take care of the ball better and get the job done at the free throw line, the onus is on his teammates to step up, too.
When the Boston Celtics jumped out to a 91-70 lead at the start of the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, many watching believed the game was over.
The Mavericks seemed spent, and the Celtics were firing on all cylinders offensively for what seemed like the first time in the series.
Then Dallas started getting stops, the crowd got back into the game, and the Mavericks were all of a sudden delivering on the offensive end to the tune of a 20-2 run that eventually cut the Boston lead all the way down to one.
Boston closed the game with a 13-6 spurt following Luka Doncic's sixth foul with just over four minutes to play, and closed out Game 3 staring adversity square in the face - something that Celtics teams of the recent past may not have done. So how does Boston prepare for moments of intense adversity? It's an interesting approach, according to Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
"Joe [Mazzulla] does a great job of showing us clips and things from different sports," Tatum began. "He's a big UFC fan, showing us fights of people that...I don't know the terminology of UFC, but put him in a chokehold and s---. Like they're about to tap out, and to see the guy or woman relaxing because they know they're about to win and you give the other person life. Just trying to translate that to the game of basketball where the closer you are to winning, the closer they are to surviving. Basically just trying to remind us in a group that we've still got a long way to go. We still have to play the right way. We still gotta win. They're not going to quit and we should expect the best from them from here on out."
JT on how Joe Mazzulla uses UFC film to help the Celtics and motivate them to never quit pic.twitter.com/A3VQUfvHUY
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 13, 2024
The Celtics take a 3-0 series lead into Friday night's Game 4, as Boston looks to raise banner No. 18, while the Mavericks will fight to keep their season alive.
At long last, the NBA Finals are just a day away, and I’m ready to lock in three plays for Game 1 – all of which end up being on the Boston side.
Earlier this week, I made my official prediction for this series (Boston Celtics in 6), and like many NBA fans, I’m ready for this series between Boston and the Dallas Mavericks to start.
This season, I’ve bet on the NBA every day that there have been games, and while we’re not positive on the year at the moment, a Celtics preseason future could get us there – depending upon how these Finals go.
We’re starting strong in Game 1 with three plays – two props and one side – with Boston entering the game as a 6.5-point favorite.
Eastern Conference Finals MVP Jaylen Brown has been terrific in the playoffs, averaging 25.0 points per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from 3-point range.
Brown has been much more efficient than Jayson Tatum, and he finds himself with a points prop that is four points lower than his co-star in Game 1.
I love the OVER here for Brown, who has cleared 22.5 points in nine of his 14 playoff games, including all four of his matchups in the Eastern Conference Finals.
While the return of Kristaps Porzingis could eat into Brown’s usage, I don’t expect KP to return to his normal role in his first game back from a calf injury. Brown has played a ton of minutes, clearing 40 in three of his last five games, and he’s taken at least 17 shots in 11 of 14 games this postseason.
JB has some serious value at this number ahead of Game 1.
Jrue Holiday OVER 22.5 Points, Rebounds and Assists (-122) – 0.5 unit
Jrue Holiday may not win an ECF MVP or Finals MVP, but he has been a massive difference maker in his first season in Boston.
Holiday’s defensive prowess makes him a staple in Joe Mazzulla’s rotation, and dating back to the second round he’s really stuffed the stat sheet overall.
Holiday is averaging 17.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game over his last seven games, clearing 22.5 PRA in six of those contests.
I imagine Holiday will draw the assignment on either Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving, and he should play heavy minutes in Game 1. Betting on Boston props is a little volatile since we don’t know Porzingis’ usage, but this number has dropped significantly for Holiday compared to the 25.5 and 26.5’s that we saw in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The only NBA champion on the Boston roster should continue his strong play in Game 1.
Boston Celtics -6.5 (-110) vs. Dallas Mavericks – 0.5 unit
I think that bodes well for a Boston team that covered in two of its three Game 1s so far this postseason and was 37-4 straight up at home in the regular season. The C’s also posted a 26-21-2 against the spread record as home favorites this season, winning those games by an average margin of victory of 14.4 points.
I have a lot of respect for the run Dallas made, but Jason Kidd’s team has struggled in Game 1s since he took over, going 1-5 straight up and losing four of those five games by seven or more points.
Boston – the best team in the NBA all season long – has been disrespected in my eyes entering this series. It went 12-2 on its run to the Finals and easily posted the best net rating of any team in the playoffs.
I’ll lay the points with the C’s in Game 1.
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