NBA Finals Picks 6/9 – Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics

NBA Finals Picks 6/9 – Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics

The NBA Finals continue tonight with the Dallas Mavericks (50-32, fifth in the Western Conference) visiting the Boston Celtics (64-18, first in the Eastern Conference) in Game Two on ABC. Boston leads the series 1-0 after an impressive 107-89 win on Thursday night. Boston has now won eight straight postseason games which is the longest winning streak in franchise history. They’ve also won five in a row against Dallas. Boston is a 6.5-point favorite and the total is 214.5.  

The Boston Celtics showed no signs of rust in Game One following a ten-day layoff as they cruised to a 107-89 victory. After a see saw battle midway through the first quarter, Boston began to dominate Dallas when Kristaps Porzingis checked into the game. They ended the quarter with a 37-20 lead. Boston stretched the margin to 58-29 with about four minutes left in the second quarter and led 63-42 at halftime. Dallas pulled within eight points (72-64) with 3:55 left in the third quarter, but Boston responded with a 14-0 run over the next three minutes and never looked back.

GAME ONE STORYLINES: DALLAS

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 30 points (12-26 FG, 4-12 3Pt, 2-5 FT), 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals across 38 minutes in the Game One loss. Doncic has scored over 30 points in five of his last six postseason games. His one assist in the finals opener was a playoff career-low. The Western Conference Finals MVP did not get much help from his teammates in Game One as they were unable to knock down open looks as Boston did not throw a lot of blitzes or double-teams at Doncic.  

P.J. Washington was Dallas’ second-leading scorer in Game One finishing with 14 points (5-11 FG, 4-6 FT) and 8 rebounds over 36 minutes. Kyrie Irving had a subpar opening game as he totaled just 12 points (6-19 FG, 0-5 3Pt), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 37 minutes. Over his last six games, Irving has scored over 30 points in every other game so it’s likely he bounces back with a big performance tonight in Game Two. 

NBA Finals Picks 6/9 – Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics

Kyrie Irving was booed every time he touched the ball in Game One due to a tumultuous two-year tenure with the Boston Celtics that ended following the 2018-19 season. He had a few objectionable incidents with the Boston fans when he returned to play there as a Brooklyn Net from 2019-2023. Irving has now lost 11 straight games to Boston.

Dallas is 1-3 in Game One’s in the postseason but won all three Game Two’s on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City and Minnesota. We’ll see if Dallas can continue their Game Two postseason success tonight in Boston.

GAME ONE STORYLINES: BOSTON

Boston’s surprisingly easy Game One victory was ignited by the return and tremendous play of center Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis had not played since injuring his right calf against the Miami Heat in the opening round on April 29. Porzingis missed Boston’s previous 10 playoff games and there were questions about how effective he could be. Boston decided to bring Porzingis off the bench in Game One and he played like a superstar as soon as he entered the game. 

Kristaps Porzingis entered the game at the 7:17 mark of the first quarter with Boston trailing 12-11. Porzingis proceeded to score 11 points over the final 7 minutes of the first quarter as Boston broke the game open by outscoring Dallas 26-8 to close out the quarter. He added 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in the decisive first quarter. Porzingis finished the game with 20 points (8-13 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 21 minutes of action. He was Boston’s second leading scorer in Game One.

NBA Finals Picks 6/9 – Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics

In addition to Kristaps Porzingis’ heroics in Game One, All-Star Jaylen Brown led a balanced offensive attack with 22 points (7-12 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 6-11 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals over 37 minutes. Brown grabbed headlines after a driving one-handed posterizing dunk over Mavs center Daniel Gafford in the second quarter. The Eastern Conference Finals MVP Brown has been red-hot over his last 5 games averaging 28.2 ppg.

Boston’s other four starters – Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White – all posted double-digit scoring in the Game 1 victory. Jayson Tatum’s streak of 8 consecutive games with at least 20 points ended as he finished with 16 points, but he added a team-high 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a block. Tatum has shown his all-around skillset in the postseason as he leads Boston in scoring (25.3), rebounding (10.4) and assists (5.9) through 15 games. 

Boston also won Game One of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors and then went on to lose 4 of the next 5 games as they were eliminated in six games. Several current players – Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard – remain from the 2021-22 Celtics team that lost to Golden State and may have extra motivation to close this series out. 

THE PICK: CELTICS (-6.5) 

I think the return of a healthy Porzingis adds an offensive and defensive element that Dallas is not equipped to handle at all in this series. Lay the Points and take the Celtics!

NBA Finals Picks 6/9 – Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics