Game 2 of the NBA Finals begins at 8 PM ET on Sunday at TD Garden. The Boston Celtics stunned the Dallas Mavericks to win Game 1 on Thursday, and Boston has a chance to take a 2-0 lead with a win on Sunday. The Action Network staff has nine games in the works. Best bets on the NBA Finalsinclude Against the spread, Over/Under Prediction And many Player Prop Pick.
Please read the following Mavericks vs. Celtics Game 2 Predictions upon Sunday, June 9.
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Joe Derella
Let's do it again soon!
Kristaps Porzingis had a great Game 1, playing seven minutes in the first quarter and scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Porzingis is averaging seven points per first quarter this season and hitting 81% of his shots with at least 3.5 points in the first quarter. We won his last matchup at 7+ (+350, bet365) and 10+ (+1200, Bet365), and honestly, there’s no reason not to bet on both again.
The man cooking He has scored 11 and 13 points in two first quarters against the Mavericks this season.
choose: Kristaps Porzingis 1st quarter points: 3.5 or more
By Moltmann
For Luka Doncic MVP supporters, Game 1 of the Finals was not great. The Mavericks looked lost on defense, had no counter to Porzingis, and left shooters open too often without walling off the paint. They basically did nothing they wanted to do. They couldn't stop quality three-point shots, they were off center, and they had little to no rim protection. They were even worse offensively, not getting assists, not making three-pointers, and missing opportunities.
If that sounds familiar, that's exactly what happened in Game 1 against Miami and Cleveland when Boston lost Game 1 on the road against the Clippers and Thunder. A horrible offense and a defense that barely prevented anything happened in both series. In all four of those cases, Boston lost Game 2 and Dallas won.
It may not seem like it at first glance, but there's a ton of areas the Mavs need to improve on. Derek Lively II started off timid with five fouls; he hadn't committed five fouls in three months. Doncic held the ball for too long, committed turnovers like we'd never seen before, and failed to establish an advantage against the multitude of defenders closing in on him. Dallas shot 24 percent from three-point range, their worst shooting percentage in the entire playoffs, with some shots contested and some uncontested. Boston has a history of putting up sloppy contests at times on three-pointers, and that could work to their advantage this time around.
Going into this series, the game I was most confident Dallas would win was Game 2, and that hasn't changed after Game 1. I'm betting .5u on Dallas at +230 on the moneyline (I'll bet as low as +200) and I'm betting .15u on Dallas -8.5 at +700 on FanDuel (I'll bet as low as +650).
choose: Mavericks ML & Mavericks -8.5
Joe Derella
Luka Doncic was relied on heavily as a scoring source with a 37% usage rate in Game 1. Boston went all out and slowed Dallas' offensive process but still provided matchups where Doncic felt he could attack on his own, resulting in just one assist out of seven possibilities.
It's unrealistic that Doncic would only record one assist in Game 2, but the Mavericks need to take advantage as well as make changes in strategy and tactics, which is easier said than done considering Boston allowed Indiana to make consecutive runs inside but didn't seem to care because Boston was outnumbered in the 3-on-2 play.
Doncic is always a threat to record a triple-double, but there are too many variables here to support a significant increase in assist numbers.
choose: Luka Doncic Assists Under 8.5 (-135)
Brian Fonseca
I mentioned this in my Game 2 Bucket preview along with Matt Moore and Joe Derella.
P.J. Washington had zero three-point shots in his last game, but he has made two or more three-pointers in 11 of his 13 games and has generally made more than that amount in the playoffs.
Dallas shot just 32 percent from three-point range in Game 1, which is unsustainable if the Mavs want to win, or even compete meaningfully, in the NBA Finals.
I expect him to take more 3-pointers and get closer to a 40% 3-point percentage in the playoffs, and Washington should benefit as a result. My guess is he'll take at least five, with two more being plenty.
choose: PJ Washington 3s 1.5+ (-135)
Brian Fonseca
Does this also include money? Give me that.
I almost mentioned this in Buckets, but I'm emphasizing it for the same reason I like PJ Washington to make at least two deep shots.
Maxi Kleber only took one shot in about 20 minutes in the last game, which is disappointing, but he has made 6 of 9 three-pointers in the playoffs. He's a Jason Kidd favorite and is needed in this series because of his offensive elasticity and defensive transitions.
I think he's going to get some good playing time and be able to make some 3-pointers while he's out there.
choose: Maxi Clever 0.5 3+ seconds (+105)
Joe Derella
Tatum has been an excellent rebounder throughout the playoffs, averaging over 10 rebounds per game in each of his past two playoff games, and it is his assist ability that will determine whether he counts in the assist numbers.
In Game 1, Tatum assisted on five of his 14 passes and kicked out over 60% of his drives. Defenses continued to collapse on Tatum, who created opportunities for his teammates.
When it comes to rebounding, his floor is incredibly high, averaging over 10 rebounds per game during the playoffs.
I like this combo stat for a few reasons. In terms of hit rate alone, Tatum has exceeded this 14.5 RA line in 80% of his playoff games, including 16 times in Game 1. Additionally, rebounds and assists both have a high floor while also having some ceiling. I'm not sure if Dallas will continue to crumble when Tatum is driving, but even if he doesn't, he's always kicking out to the perimeter when he gets an offensive rebound.
I expect Tatum to exceed a 14.5 RA in Game 2.
choose: Jayson Tatum: 14.5+ Rebounds + Assists (-125)
Andrew O'Connor Watts
The Celtics have a lot of things going on with the Mavericks defensively, and that's especially true with Kyrie Irving. When the Celtics switch, there aren't many defenders for him to attack. Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and even Jayson Tatum can all deal with Irving, but July Holiday in particular has done a great job of avoiding screens and not giving Irving much of the space to play as he normally does.
Boston seemed pretty content to sell Irving in Game 1, even though Doncic put up his customary 30+ points. I don't see any reason for them to deviate from the Game 1 game plan, so I think 24 points for Irving in this series is too high. He was 6-of-19 from the field, didn't make a single free throw, and finished with just 12 points. I expect him to go no higher than 23.5, maybe even 21.5.
choose: Kyrie Irving Under 22.5 points (-104)
Matt Moore
When I bet on the over, I did a complete 180 degree turn from game 1. Why? Because of pace.
The Mavericks will probably shoot the ball a little better than they did in Game 1. Boston didn't shoot the ball very well (47% from the field, 38% from 3-point range), so they could put up better numbers.
But the Mavericks had 84 possessions in Game 1. Even if they had an offensive rating of 120 in Game 2, a staggering number that would likely lead to a win, and they played at an 84 possession pace, they would still only score… 100 points.
This game is going to be tough because both teams are going to switch, which just kills screen actions and cuts and makes possession more difficult.
The last time a series had this much switching was the Western Conference Finals between the Rockets and Warriors in 2018. The under was 5-1-1 in that game.
There will be a lot of 3-pointers taken in this series, but they will come off slow, tough possessions with a lot of dribble. I'm switching gears and betting the under on Game 2.
choose: Less than 214.5
Chris Baker
I bet on this in Game 1, and the handicapping worked exactly as I expected, with the Celtics playing Doncic in single coverage and challenging him to outscore the offense with tough two-point shots. I expect the Celtics defense to employ a similar game plan of forcing only one defender to handle the ball as much as possible.
Doncic scored 30 points in Game 1 but shot just 40% from the free throw line and 33% from 3-point range and did not play the final five minutes of the game in a blown loss. Doncic should play closer to 45 minutes in Game 1 and should score closer to 35 points if he shoots with average efficiency.
