NBA Finals betting odds & picks
We are finally here, game 1 or the NBA Finals. After nine 7 long days we get the anticipated matchup featuring the best team team in the NBA the Boston Celtics against the 5th seeded team in the Western Conference Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics have been the prohibitive favorite all season & playoff long. Entering the playoffs, the matchup for a Celtics/Mavericks had Boston as significant favorites at -400 while speaking with Sam Panayotovich last night. The current series line is the Celtics -210 at Draftkings sports book. The odds were literally cut on half and some think it’s Dallas with the best value in the series. That is a significant change and a much better price if you like the green to raise banner 18. My feeling is the Celtics will hit more threes and win the series in 5 games +340.
Taking a deeper look into the two stars of Dallas. Kyrie Irving has a 3-1 postseason series record vs the Celtics, with a 12-6 win/loss record. He is 6-3 at the Garden, having lost his last 3 games in Boston. In those 3 losses he scored 39, 39 and 10 points. Luka Doncic is 24-21 in the playoffs. He is at 11-9 home and 13-12 on the road. He is 2-5 in game 1 of a road series. According to StatMuse, the Boston Celtics are a whopping 15-0 in game one of the NBA Finals. The betting line opened at -5.5 and has been bet up to -6.5 with a total of 215. The favorite has an historical edge in game 1.
I’m also going to bet the Celtics to win the first quarter of game 1. According to Brian Barrett of the Ringer, the Celtics have a significant edge in offensive & defensive rating in the opening quarter and currently -2.5 at Fanduel. I’m going to ride the trend.
When it comes to NBA Finals MVP the names at the top of the list are Jayson Tatum -115 and Luca Doncic +205 at Draftkings Sportsbook. The real value is Jaylen Brown +650 and a long shot is Kyrie Irving at +2,200. If the Celtics win Tatum should get most of the consideration.
It all starts tonight and you can hear the game on 98.5 The Sports Hub begining at 7:30 and I will be on postgame until 1AM with Cerrone Battle. You can watch the show on Youtube.