Any doubts about the Boston Celtics' dominance and Kristaps Porzingis' health were quickly dispelled during Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. Buoyed by the excitement of making his Finals debut against a team that supposedly “essentially wrote him off,” Porzingis entered Game 1 with a ferocity that many were hesitant to expect after missing 10 games this postseason.
Coming off a 107-89 blowout loss to a full Celtics team, the Mavericks are in a tough spot to bounce back in this series. But there's a potential scenario. have They've been in similar situations before, losing Game 1 to the Los Angeles Clippers, 109-97, and Game 2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117-95, but came back to win both Game 2 and the series, 4-2.
Of course, neither opponent compares to the Celtics' core, which has Finals experience and is eager to win its first championship for its stars. So who will they face in Game 2? Here are NBA Finals odds and expert predictions ahead of Sunday night's game.
All odds are taken from BetMGM. Find the best ticket deals on StubHub.
Dallas Mavericks v Boston Celtics
How to watch: 8pm ET on ABC
Celtics lead series 1-0
Series Odds: Celtics -450, Mavericks +340
The odds for Game 2 aren't that far off from the odds for Game 1, with a 7.5-point difference on Sunday that Boston easily covered compared to the 6.5-point difference before Thursday's game.
Where we've seen a big change is in the odds for this series. Before Game 1, Boston was priced at -225 to win the series, while the Mavs were +180. Now, the Celtics are priced at -450 and the Mavs at +340. Not surprising after their dominating Game 1 win.
The story of this matchup began as one of the star duos of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown versus Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but Game 1 was a disappointment, with Boston finding ways to stifle much of Dallas' star power and both teams showing that role players are key to winning.
Irving, in particular, finished with just 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting, while Doncic was solid with 30 points on 12-of-26 shooting from the field and 10 rebounds, and PJ Washington proved to be an integral part of the Dallas lineup with 14 points and 8 rebounds.
But the Celtics' strategy forced the Mavs' stars to score rather than score for their teammates. And it worked. Irving had just two assists (his average is five this postseason) and Doncic had just one. It was only the fifth time in his career that he had that few assists for another scorer. His average assists this postseason is 8.4. As a whole, the Mavs lineup had just nine assists to Boston's 23.
Meanwhile, on Boston's side, the game wasn't just about their star duo, it was about a dominant team. Six Celtics players scored in double figures on Thursday night, including a returning Porzingis who had 20 points off the bench. Tatum had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while Brown had 22 points, six rebounds and two assists. Jrue Holiday had a game-high plus-minus of plus-20. Seven Celtics players made at least two three-pointers, an NBA Finals single-game record. The Celtics outscored the Mavericks by 27 points on three-pointers, and that's not even counting the defensive numbers that sealed the game.
In previews for this series, experts were divided on which Boston player would win Finals MVP if the Celtics won the series, which in itself is a testament to the balance of this team.
But let's not forget the path Dallas has taken to get here, a path of adversity and struggle that has seen them play their best basketball with their backs against the wall. They cut the Celtics' lead from 29 to eight in the third quarter, and Doncic looked like he might outscore the entire Celtics team for a moment.
But this series is clearly one Boston will lose, and if these two teams play out like that again, the Celtics could win easily, but it's hard to imagine Dallas not being able to find an answer at full strength. The question is when.
Mavericks expert predictions for Celtics game
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More NBA Finals coverage
Jay King: Kristaps Porzingis returns to Celtics, a 'matchup nightmare' for Mavericks
David Aldridge: The Celtics may have perfected the modern NBA offense.
Tim Cate: The Mavericks aren't panicking because they've been through something similar before.
Steve Buckley: Celtics' 14-0 rally after timeout made Joe Mazzulla look like a coaching wizard.
Jared Weiss: Jaylen Brown dominates at the rim, leads Celtics to Game 1 win
John Hollinger: If the Mavericks' stars can't beat the Celtics one-on-one, the series is over.
Joe Vardon: Kyrie Irving thought Boston crowd would be 'a little louder'
Roe Murray: Similarities between this game and Game 1 of the Clippers vs. Mavericks
(Photo of Kristaps Porzingis: Matt Stone/MediaNewsGroup/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
