The Dallas Mavericks should’ve waited at least one more day to start the NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics. The week hiatus between the conference finals and the start of this series was something that needed to be addressed, and the Mavs apparently failed to do that and they were no match for the Cs in Game 1 losing 107-89. The good news is that it’s only one game and the Mavs have a chance to redeem themselves on Sunday, June 9, when Game 2 of the series takes place. The Mavs rallied for Game 2 road wins in each of their first two series after dropping the opener and they haven’t lost a Game 2 going 3-0 as a NBA pick against the spread.
There is some significance to Game 2s for the Celtics as well. Both playoff setbacks came in the second game of their series with Miami in the first round and Cleveland in the second round. And both times the Celtics were a double-digit favorite. Since losing to the Cavs almost a month ago, the Celtics have been perfect winning all eight games. However, facing a large NBA point spread in those games caused the Celtics to go just 2-5 against the NBA betting line before covering the 6.5-points on Thursday. I had Boston covering the spread on my Game 1 NBA parlay but missed on two other bets. The week off between games got the better of me as well.
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NBA Finals Schedule for Sunday, June 9
Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. ET / ABC
It was easy to forget how much of an impact Kristaps Porzingis makes. Not that the Celtics were hurting with him out of the lineup since the first round, but he has a gift of making a good team better. KP played over 20 minutes in Game 1 but he made them count scoring 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting with three rebounds and three blocks. He’s a key piece of the offensive taking touches and points away from other players. And that cost me on my NBA picks and parlay. I had Jayson Tatum going OVER 37.5 points + rebounds and he fell miserably short with 16 points and 11 boards. Boston used a diverse offensive attack with all five starters scoring in double-figures and Porzingis contributing off the bench.
It’s hard to stop a team that’s as efficient as Boston, but the Mavs did a decent job holding the Cs to 107 points. The problem was on the other end of the floor with the team shooting just 42 percent from the field and 26 percent from three-point range. Luka Doncic did what he normally does scoring 30 points with 10 rebounds.
I doubt the Mavs experienced jitters in Game 1 of the NBA Finals since they cruised through the NBA playoffs knocking off three of the West’s top four seeds to get here. And I can certainly see them making the proper adjustments to be more competitive. It starts with Kyrie Irving chipping in more on the offensive end. The former Celtic had a week to think about this game and his time in Boston, which wasn’t the best of his career. Irving had 12 points on 6 of 19 shooting and missed all five three-point attempts.
The issues on offense were surprising since the Mavs eliminated one of the top defensive teams in Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals reaching triple digits in every game. Going back to the final game of the OKC series the Mavs had cashed the OVER on the NBA odds in five of six games before being held to a playoff low point total in Game 1. Doncic said he won’t allow the 18-point setback to harm his club. “Either you lose or you win. First to four, we’ve got to focus on the next game.”
I’m going to bet the Game 2 trend and back the Mavs and 7.5 points on the NBA betting line. With some of the rust chiseled off after more than a week before the start of the series, I also see more points on the board. Dallas looked so out of sync that you had to believe the down time affected them. They’ll be better and so will Kyrie, who goes OVER his projected NBA point total of 22.5.
NBA Finals Same Game Parlay Picks for Sunday, June 9
Dallas +7.5
Dallas / Boston OVER 214.5
Kyrie Irving OVER 22.5 Points
Bet $100 to Win $612 On This NBA Parlay at Caesars sportsbook
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