Mavericks vs. Celtics Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
Two injury-plagued teams that are clinging to playoff spots in their respective conferences are set to go head-to-head on Wednesday as the Dallas Mavericks are in Boston to face the Celtics. Both Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic returned to the lineup in Dallas’ 127-106 win over the OKC Thunder on Monday. Meanwhile, with Jaylen Brown out of the Celtics lineup, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker’s combined 57 points weren’t enough in Boston’s 115-109 loss to the Pelicans on Monday.
The Mavs are favoured to win on the NBA odds.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
This will be the second and final regular season meeting between these teams this season. The Mavericks came away with a 110-107 win in Dallas on Feb. 23. MVP candidate Doncic dropped a game-high 31 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Brown (29 points) and Tatum (28 points) led the way for Boston.
Dallas has struggled to consistently make shots this season. They’ve been an Under team in 12 of their last 17 games overall and four of their last five games against East teams. The Mavs are 21-24 against the spread. They’re 13-11 ATS on the road and they have covered in four of their last six road games.
The Celtics haven’t been any better at hitting the Over. Boston has seen the total go Under in four of their last five home games and six of their last nine games against Dallas. They’re 22-25 ATS overall and have covered in 12 of 21 home games.
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas is seventh in the Western Conference more because of injury issues than mediocrity. Willie Cauley-Stein, Tyrell Terry and J.J. Reddick remain out, but they did get some good news with the return of Doncic and Porzingis in Mondays win over the Thunder. Doncic had a game-high 25 points and seven assists, while Porzingis put up 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. has also been having a big year off the bench for Dallas. Hardaway Jr. finished with 19 points on Monday and is averaging 16.8 points per game.
The game plan for this team is pretty simple: run everything through Doncic. Dallas has lost four of the five games he’s missed this season and he averages team-highs in points per game (28.5), assists (9.0), steals (1.0) and minutes (35). Doncic is averaging just short of a triple-double per game and should be a legitimate MVP candidate this year.
Boston Celtics
After coming into the season with the expectation they were going to compete for a title, the Celtics now sit seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and are one game below .500. Brown is expected to return to the lineup after missing the Pelicans game with a hip injury. He is averaging 24.5 points per game, second only to Tatum, and leads the team with 2.8 turnovers per game. Still in a playoff spot, Boston is clearly not ready to give up on this season. They added depth pieces near the trade deadline, acquiring Moritz Wagner from Washington and Evan Fournier from Orlando, and they should get Semi Ojeleye back from a hip injury sometime in the next couple of weeks.
If the Celtics make a run in the playoffs this year, Tatum will be a key contributor. He’s shooting above 40 per cent from beyond the arc and has averaged more than 30 points per game over his last three outings. For the season, Tatum averages a team-high 25.3 points per game and he can also help out defensively. With the Boston lineup looking like it’s finally getting healthy again, Tatum should get some help down the stretch.
DAL
BOS