Because the No. 5 seed popping out of the West, the Mavericks have began all 4 of their playoff collection on the street, shedding Sport 1 3 times.
Of their three earlier collection in opposition to the Clippers, Thunder and Timberwolves, they entered Sport 2 as two-score underdogs.
And all 3 times they got here out victorious.
Coming off a blowout loss to the Celtics within the NBA Finals opener, Dallas enters Sunday’s Sport 2 as a 7-point canine.
An outright upset (+270, FanDuel) is perhaps asking an excessive amount of this time, however can the Mavs preserve it shut?
In that case, they’ll have to enhance significantly on the 2 issues that acquired them this far within the playoffs: 3-point effectivity and inside lob scoring.
And Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving should step up on each ends of the court docket.
Doncic led all scorers in Sport 1 with 30 factors however completed with only a single help after averaging 9.8 within the common season.
Irving completed with simply 12 factors (and two assists), hitting 31.6 p.c of his pictures from the sector and lacking all 5 of his 3-point makes an attempt.
But it surely was the dynamic duo’s protection that was simply as pricey. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had been relentlessly driving at Doncic and Irving, taking it to the basket or dishing off for nook 3s.
The Mavs hadn’t seen something prefer it of their three earlier playoff collection.
The Mavericks had a complete week to organize and nonetheless misplaced large.
Betting on the NBA?
They’ve now dropped three video games to Boston this season by a median of greater than 18 factors per recreation.
Possibly issues get higher when the collection strikes to Dallas subsequent week, however Sport 2 seems set for an additional blowout.
The play: Celtics -7 (-110, Caesars Sportsbook)
