The Washington Wizards announced on Wednesday that Brian Keefe, who acted as interim coach since January, will officially be the team’s new head coach.
Keefe took over after coach Wes Unseld Jr. was fired in January. Keefe led the Wizards to an 8–31 record after that.
“We are excited for Brian to become our next head coach. Brian is a proven motivator and connector of people,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said in a press release. “As a leader in the organization, he will continue to positively grow and invest into the development of our players. His wealth of experience will help move our team forward as we build for long-term sustained success.”
Official: Brian Keefe has been named the 26th Head Coach in franchise history.
Keefe previously worked as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder (2007–15 and 2019–20), the New York Knicks (2015–16), the Los Angeles Lakers (2016–19) and the Brooklyn Nets (2021–23) before coming to the Wizards. This past season was Keefe’s first with the Wizards.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is crucial for the Dallas Mavericks, as a loss would all be seal their fate against the Boston Celtics in this series.
Trailing 2-0, Dallas is looking to avoid the dreaded 3-0 series deficit -- something no team has ever come back from in a seven-game series in the history of the league.
On the bright side for Dallas, oddsmakers have favored Luka Doncic and company at home in Game 3.
The spread in Game 3 has moved since Kristaps Porzingis was diagnosed with a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon on Tuesday.
Porzingis is officially questionable for Game 3, and oddsmakers have moved Dallas from -2 to -2.5 in this game since the Porzingis injury was announced.
Boston has fared well without Porzingis this postseason, but he clearly makes the Celtics a better team, especially after dropping 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field in Game 1.
Can Dallas pick up a win at home to keep its chances to win the Finals alive?
Boston Celtics on the Road
Boston has dominated on the road in the playoffs, going 6-0 straight up against the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. Can it stay perfect against the Mavericks?
The C's are 22-22-3 against the spread on the road in the 2023-24 season overall, so their playoff performance has been even better.
Boston Celtics as Underdogs
This is just the fourth time this season that the Celtics are underdogs, and it's the first time in five months that they have been in this spot.
Boston is 1-2 against the spread as an underdog in the 2023-24 season. All of those games have come on the road.
Dallas Mavericks at Home
So far this season, Dallas is 25-24 against the spread at home, but that number is slightly better as a home favorite.
The Mavs are 19-17 against the spread as home favorites, although they have lost games at home in every series so far this postseason.
Teams Down 0-2 in Game 3
Dallas is down 0-2 in this series, but there is an interesting trend dating back to 2005 for these teams entering Game 3.
NBA teams down 0-2 at home since 2005:
• 91-47-1 first half ATS • 66-70-3 full game ATS
The first half trend has been even lately though, going just 13-14-1 1H ATS since 2020-21 (3-4 this year) pic.twitter.com/ecnq7LaJoo
However, the Celtics are the best team in the NBA against the spread in the first half this season, so bettors may want to be careful about having to lay points with Dallas, who is a slight favorite, in Game 3.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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