2024 NBA Finals Preview: Boston Favored Over Dallas

The seemingly endless break between the NBA’s respective conference finals and the NBA Finals will finally end on Thursday night when the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics tip off what should be a fascinating series.

Of course, there’s the narrative about Kyrie Irving returning to Boston, the battle between Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis (assuming he returns from injury as expected) facing the team that traded him just over two years ago.

This 2024 NBA Finals preview should note that even with all the positive momentum the Mavericks have from their five-game dismantling of the Timberwolves, Boston is -220 to win it all.

The Celtics’ current 15-year title drought feels like an eternity for such a storied franchise, particularly when viewed in connection with how consistently good Boston has been in the regular season during the Tatum/Jaylen Brown era.

For Celtics fans, this is the year that core — now aided by Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to go with Derrick White — has to finally break through. Their NBA championship odds are very promising, which makes sense because they won 64 games and had the league’s best record during the regular season.

But, they might be favored by too much against a Mavericks team that is playing awesome all-around basketball at the right time.

Luka Dončić has simply been incredible all postseason, Kyrie Irving continues to make big shots when needed and guys like P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Derrick Jones Jr. all have helped in a big way on both ends of the floor. This is a deep and talented group that shouldn’t only be +180 to win this series.

Will Celtics’ Easy Road To Finals Hurt Them?

Much has been made about how little Boston was challenged in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs. First, the Celtics beat the undermanned Miami Heat in five games, then dispatched the also-hamstrung Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1 before sweeping the Indiana Pacers despite needing to forge multiple late-game comebacks.

Sure, as this 2024 NBA Finals preview acknowledges, the Celtics didn’t face as tough a road as the Mavericks did but it’s not like Boston cruised through their 12 wins without breaking a sweat.

Boston lost home games in the first and second rounds and, against Indiana, was arguably outplayed for much of the series. There certainly were a bunch of games in which the Celtics had everything clicking at the same time.

They did not hit on all cylinders consistently throughout their run to the Finals but, most of the time did just enough to win games. At the end of the day, that’s what matters even if it means they’ll need to step up to beat a team like Dallas.

It also helps the Boston Celtics— which had such an impressive NBA record during the season when Porzingis was healthy — that he is on track to return for this series. They missed him against Indiana because replacing Luke Kornet’s minutes with Porzingis gives the Celtics much more offensive versatility.

Kornet played well defensively but Porzingis, when healthy, is a multi-level scorer that will force Dallas’ bigs to get out of the paint, opening up driving lanes for Tatum and Brown. The presence of Porzingis changes things for Boston.

Dallas Needs Scoring From Unlikely Sources

It’s not exactly surprising that more than half of the Mavericks’ points in the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Timberwolves were scored by Luka and Kyrie.

No 2024 NBA Finals preview can gloss over just how incredible those two guys are in clutch moments, which gives Dallas a legitimate edge in certain late-game situations.

For how good Tatum and Brown are and have been at times late in games, they aren’t the reliable shot-makers that Luka and Kyrie are.

With that said, the Dallas Mavericks can’t rely on hero ball from their two lead guys to win four games against a team as disciplined and sound as the Celtics.

They need scoring from other players too, such as Washington, Gafford, and Lively II. Out of that group, Washington is the only one who can truly create his offense, and even that’s a bit iffy considering his limited playmaking role in Dallas.

Still, he’s a good scorer that can help swing NBA games today.

Otherwise, the cupboard is kind of bare for the Mavericks in terms of alternative scoring options. Despite Jones Jr.’s ability to knock down open threes and the offensive firepower of Josh Green and Jaden Hardy, they haven’t seen much playing time.

Coach Jason Kidd wants to win possessions with Luka or Kyrie on the ball, and for good reason. Dallas’s offense will need to get creative because Holiday, Brown, and Tatum are all so good at defending the ball. This will likely be the deciding factor in the series.

For NBA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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