The Athletic has live coverage of Celtics vs. Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals
The Boston Celtics didn’t play their best offensive basketball in Game 2 on Sunday, and yet their smothering, high-speed defense made victory look almost easy. As the Celtics took a 2-0 lead in this NBA Finals, a few whispers of “sweep” leaked into the conversation. BetMGM has the odds of a Boston sweep at +275.
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Of course, it’s too early for that. But Boston is scary.
The Celtics handed the Dallas Mavericks a Game 2 performance that, on paper, should’ve translated to a Dallas win. Boston was inaccurate from three, Jayson Tatum had 18 points on 6-of-22 shooting, and Luka Dončić had a 32-point triple-double. Instead, Dallas is staring down a 2-0 deficit heading into Game 3. The Mavs cannot afford to let that become 3-0, for all the historic reasons you already know.
Despite the 2-0 deficit, Dallas is favored ahead of Game 3 and will have the relief of playing back at home with a friendlier crowd. Let’s get into their odds to win and our expert picks for Wednesday’s Game 3 matchup in Dallas.
All odds from BetMGM. Find the best deals on StubHub for tickets.
Boston Celtics at Dallas Mavericks
How to watch: 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC
Celtics lead series 2-0
Series odds: Celtics -1000, Mavericks +650
Before Game 2, the series odds were Celtics -450, Mavericks +340. They’ve both taken off in opposite directions. But the Mavs opened as narrow favorites for the first game in Dallas.
It’s going to be an uphill battle to challenge this Boston core. Only five teams in NBA history have gone on to win the Finals after going down 2-0. To win, the Mavs need Kyrie Irving to produce in a way he hasn’t yet against the Celtics and, connected to that, they need to find a way to score against Boston’s defense.
Boston’s story this Finals has been the cohesion of a whole team. Tatum is the face of that team, but it’s been Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porziņģis, Derrick White and — in Game 2 especially — Jrue Holiday making headlines in this series. This balance among the leads is reflected in the odds for NBA MVP, where four Celtics are in the top five, with Tatum and Brown nearly even (+130 and +160, respectively) and Holiday jumping from odds as long as +12000 to now sitting right behind Dončić at +700.
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Porziņģis might be back on the sidelines due to injury though. He tore a tendon in his leg and his status is unclear. He has only averaged 22 minutes per game this series, but is shooting 60 percent from the field.
Tatum isn’t the only player leaving us wondering when he is going to start making shots. Irving has not had an answer for Boston’s defense yet and hasn’t looked like the ball-handling wizard he can be. He got 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting in Game 1 and 16 points on 7-of-18 in Game 2. The Mavericks and Irving need to figure this out if they stand a chance against Boston. Irving is 0-12 in Boston since he left. Maybe the home crowd can stoke that fire back to life.
A sliver of hope? We’re getting echoes of 2016 when Irving played poorly in the first two games against Golden State, but came back to be a decisive factor in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win. But that was two different teams, eight years ago.
As for the Mavs’ other star, Dončić had a killer night offensively in Game 2, getting 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. But he also had eight turnovers, leading to 11 Boston points. He looked fatigued. In Dallas’ series against Minnesota, Irving and Dončić almost seemed to trade halves with Irving carrying the load earlier in the games so Dončić could close.
The Mavs need to dig deep and make some changes: Figure out how to slow the pace, give Dončić room to breathe and activate Irving. The Celtics just need to keep doing what they’re doing, which is letting their talent and chemistry shine.
Expert picks for Celtics at Mavericks
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More NBA Finals coverage
Jared Weiss: Challenge to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’s ‘sacred’ partnership fuels Celtics’ Game 2 win
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John Hollinger: Jason Kidd needed the Celtics to beat themselves, because the Mavericks can’t
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Tim Cato: Mavericks have no answers for Celtics in NBA Finals: ‘They’re just better’
(Photo of Jayson Tatum and Luka Dončić: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)
