If this is the last NBA game of the season, it has been a delightful journey with you folks on The Gaming Juice. Before the NBA Finals, we were thriving with wins left and right, but now the stupid Mavericks with their stupid play have depleted the ol’ bankroll.
So let us be the dumb ones this time around and stick with a Dallas bet. Now, the Mavs haven’t done anything to make us trust them for a full game, but I believe we’ll see at least an inspired effort in the first quarter against Boston on Friday.
The pick — Dallas first-quarter ML (-130, DraftKings)
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If not for Jayson Tatum's breakaway dunk with one second left, Dallas would have covered Game 3’s first-quarter spread. I think the Mavericks will come out just as hot for Game 4.
They shot a scorching 54.2% from the field in the first frame on Wednesday while managing to go 3-for-3 from the free-throw line and out-rebound the Celtics 11-9. It’s evident this Dallas team can start fast, especially at home.
Also, the Mavs held a 119.2 offensive rating in the first quarter of Game 3, significantly higher than their series offensive rating of 102.1. This was mostly due to Luka Doncic’s 13 points and Kyrie Irving’s nine points. Dallas’ stars knew they needed a strong start at American Airlines Center, and they delivered. There’s no reason to think that won’t happen again.
Expect the Mavericks to come out swinging in the first quarter Friday. We don’t need them to win. We don’t even need them to play well for most of the game. They’ve shown they’re good enough to trust for the first 12 minutes of what could be the series clincher for the Celtics.
NBA postseason record: 10-12, -2.03 units