Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics Odds, Predictions, Player Props & Injuries for Game 1
By Sascha Paruk in NBA Basketball
Published:
- The 2024 NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics starts on Thursday, June 6
- The Game 1 Mavericks vs Celtics odds heavily favor Boston jumping out to an early lead in the best-of-seven series
- Below see the Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics predictions, player-prop picks, and odds for Game 1
After an improbable run to the Western Conference title as the #5 seed, the Dallas Mavericks (62-37, 32-18 away, 58-41 ATS) face the Eastern Conference #1 seed Boston Celtics (76-20, 43-6 home, 49-43- 4 ATS) in the 2024 NBA Finals starting with Game 1 on Thursday, June 6, at 8:40 pm ET.
The Mavericks vs Celtics odds heavily favor Boston holding serve at home in Game 1.
Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Mavericks | +6.5 (-110) | +190 | O 214.5 (-110) |
| Boston Celtics | -6.5 (-110) | -230 | U 214.5 (-110) |
The Celtics are currently 6.5-point favorites for Game 1 and -230 on the moneyline. The Mavs come back at +190 to win while the game total is sitting at 214.5.
Dallas is 9-8 over/under in the postseason and has hit the over in five of its past six games. Boston is 8-6 O/U in the postseason and has also gone over in five of its last six.
Odds as of June 5 at DraftKings. Claim a bonus through the best NBA betting apps for the 2024 finals.
The Mavericks won three straight series without home-court advantage en route to the Western Conference championship, downing the #4 LA Clippers in six games, the #1 OKC Thunder in six as well, and the #3 Minnesota Timberwolves in five. Dallas is 11-6 against the spread in the playoffs to date.
Boston hardly broke a sweat on its path to the NBA finals. After dusting aside the #8 Miami Heat and #4 Cleveland Cavaliers in five games each, the Celtics swept the #6 Indiana Pacers in the East finals, benefitting from an injury to Indiana’s All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Dallas vs Boston Game 1 Injury Reports
After a ten-day hiatus, the Boston Celtics enter the 2024 NBA Finals fully healthy. Center Kristaps Porzingis missed the last ten games with a calf injury but the 7’1 center is no longer on the injury report ahead of Game 1 against the Mavericks.
On the Dallas side, Luka Doncic (knee/ankle) remains on the injury report, listed as probable. But take that with a grain of salt. Doncic has been listed as”probable” for the majority of the Mavs playoff games. He hasn’t missed any time and has averaged 28.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 8.8 APG in 41.5 minutes per night (all team-highs).
Maxi Kleber (4.4 PPG, 3.3 APG, 34.8 3P%) missed the entirety of Dallas’ six-game victory over OKC in the second round and the first three games against Minnesota in the West finals, but he returned in Games 4 and 5, scoring five points in 21 minutes over the pair of games. He’s no longer on the Dallas injury report heading into the Boston series.
DAL vs BOS Game 1 Player Props
| Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Three-Pointers Made |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Horford (BOS) | 6.5 (Ov -115 | Un -105) | 4.5 (Ov -148| Un +124) | OFF | 1.5 (Ov +120 | Un -142) |
| Daniel Gafford (DAL) | 8.5 (Ov +102 | Un -122) | 5.5 (Ov -122 | Un +102) | OFF | OFF |
| Dereck Lively II (DAL) | 8.5 (Ov +114 | Un -135) | 6.5 (Ov -148 | Un +124) | OFF | OFF |
| Derrick Jones Jr (DAL) | 7.5 (Ov -130 | Un +110) | 3.5 (Ov +105 | Un -125) | OFF | 0.5 (Ov -185 | Un +154) |
| Derrick White (BOS) | 14.5 (Ov +102 | Un -122) | 3.5 (Ov -148 | Un +124) | 4.5 (Ov -135 | Un +114) | 2.5 (Ov -135 | Un +114) |
| Jaylen Brown (BOS) | 22.5 (Ov -115 | Un -105) | 6.5 (Ov +124 | Un -148) | 2.5 (Ov -148 | Un +124) | 1.5 (Ov -180 | Un +150) |
| Jayson Tatum (BOS) | 26.5 (Ov -122 | Un +102) | 9.5 (Ov -125 | Un +105) | 5.5 (Ov -105 | Un -115) | 2.5 (Ov -122 | Un +102) |
| Jrue Holiday (BOS) | 12.5 (Ov -122 | Un +102) | 5.5 (Ov +102 | Un -122) | 4.5 (Ov -122 | Un +102) | 1.5 (Ov -180 | Un +150) |
| Kristaps Porzingis (BOS) | 15.5 (Ov -112 | Un -108) | 6.5 (Ov +110 | Un -130) | OFF | 1.5 (Ov -155 | Un +130) |
| Kyrie Irving (DAL) | 23.5 (Ov -120 | Un -100) | 3.5 (Ov -130 | Un +110) | 4.5 (Ov +102 | Un-122) | 2.5 (Ov -102 | Un -118) |
| Luka Doncic (DAL) | 31.5 (Ov -112 | Un -108) | 9.5 (Ov +114 | Un -135) | 8.5 (Ov -120 | Un -100) | 3.5 (Ov -170 | Un +142) |
| PJ Washington (DAL) | 11.5 (Ov -102 | Un -118) | 5.5 (Ov -118 Un -102) | OFF | 1.5 (Ov -175 | Un +145) |
DAL vs BOS NBA player props from DraftKings on June 5.
After averaging 32.4 PPG in the five-game series win over the T-wolves, Luka Doncic is listed with a game-high point total of 31.5 on Thursday. Tatum has the highest total for the Celtics, per usual, at 26.5.
Mavericks vs Celtics Predictions for Game 1
Boston wasn’t seriously pushed in any of its first three series but it’s sweep of the Pacers was arguably the least convincing sweep in NBA history. Three of the four games were decided by five points or fewer, and the Pacers led in the fourth quarter in three of the four (including nine-point fourth-quarter leads in both Games 3 and 4). If Haliburton had been healthy, the Eastern Conference Finals might have played out very differently.
There’s no denying that the analytics – regular season and postseason – say Boston is the better team. They had an NBA-best in Net Rating of +11.7 in the regular season and once again lead in that category in the playoffs at +10.8. But the Mavericks have made huge strides in the postseason and, with Doncic rested and ready, I expect Dallas to push the Celtics every bit as hard – make that harder – than the Pacers did. And Dallas is considerably better at closing out games than Indiana.
DAL vs BOS Game 1 picks:
- Mavericks moneyline (+190)
- Tatum under 26.5 points (-110)
- Kyrie Irving over 23.5 points (-120)
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
