NBA: Dallas Mavericks vs. Boston Celtics Preview, Odds, Prediction

Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics square off at the TD Garden this Wednesday night. For many fans, this is the best game of the day, among plenty of other contests all over the USA and Canada. The Cs are very good, currently sitting atop the east, while on the other side, the Mavericks try to reach the no.1 in the West, carried by Luka Doncic, who is by far the best player in the league right now. It’s no wonder why Luka currently sits first in the NBA MVP power rankings.

Preview

Dallas Mavericks (9-7, +250) had back-to-back games against the Nuggets at home, winning the first one and then losing the second for one point, 98-97. The Mavs had a favorable schedule, staying at home for a long time, but now comes the more demanding part, and right away, they have to visit Boston.

Luka is the top scorer in the NBA with 33.5 points per game, plus he has 9.1 boards and 8.1 assists, leading the way in the PER rating standings. He had only 22 against the Nuggets in the latest clash, way below his average, but one lousy night can’t erase all of his work from the start of the season.

The Mavs need to see Luka’s sidekicks stepping up. Spencer Dinwiddie is questionable for this event, and he might sit out. With 17.1 points per game and a lot of other positive contributions, he is the next best thing in the Mavs’ team behind Doncic.

Boston Celtics (13-4, -320) snapped its winning streak in Chicago against the Bulls, 121-107. The Cs began their victorious row also against the Bulls, but this Monday night, they simply couldn’t do anything to stop DeRozan and Vucevic, who dropped 50 points combined.

The Cs had three players with 20 or more points – Tatum, who had 28 with 11 boards, Brown with 25, and Malcolm Brogdon, who spent 25 minutes on the floor to deliver 23 buckets and six dimes, hitting five threes in six attempts. Al Horford had a terrible night, not hitting a single shot from the field, 0-for-9, and missing all seven threes.

For the first time this year, the Celtics struggled on both ends of the floor, not delivering enough on the offensive side but also failing to be aggressive in defense, which is their trademark. Though, beating the Bulls on the road isn’t an easy task, we must understand this.

Head to Head Games

The Mavs defeated the Celtics in the previous four meetings. Last year we saw them triumphing at home 107-104, and after that at the TD Garden, also closely, 95-92.

Prediction

We are taking under 222 points for this game because of the following few facts. The Mavs are known to be very tough on the defensive side when needed, and we saw that in the playoffs last year. Meanwhile, the Celtics will come into this event with a sense of urgency (following a loss to Chicago), and each time they have such an approach, they are extremely aggressive on the defensive side of the ball. So all this should result in under.

Pick: Under 222 points -110