Expert Picks Dallas to Win NBA Finals Against Celtics
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00:00But I would ask you, Coach, now that you have seen the Celtics close it out and you've seen
00:08the Mavericks close it out, have you changed your opinion at all?
00:12Do you think that the Mavericks in the end, who are a dog, can beat the Celtics in a seven
00:18game series?
00:19Troy, good to be on with you as always, and I'm actually not changing it.
00:25I went on with Donnie and Ben and I shocked Ben and I said, that was in six.
00:33And here's why.
00:34I've had concerns with the way Boston has played during the playoffs, and people have
00:40gotten mad at me on social media because I've talked about they haven't been challenged.
00:44What I mean is that they haven't played against a team that has been at their full strength.
00:49Now you're going to tell me Chris Afporzingas missed basically the last series, and that's
00:54true, but this is a Boston team that at that time takes off possessions, takes off quarters,
01:01takes off games.
01:03And I look at a team like Dallas that's really good defensively, and they've got two players
01:09that at any point can lock this game up and put it away.
01:14Look at last night.
01:15Look at Doncic.
01:1620 points, first quarter, outscored Minnesota 2019.
01:20Kyrie, second quarter, 15 points.
01:24They have guys, Craig, that they play what we call first and second side of the ball
01:30action.
01:31Meaning, you can put Kyrie on the first side, let him bring the ball, get him into some
01:37kind of ball screen action, throw it to Luka, and now Luka's on the second side.
01:42What does that mean?
01:44It's hard to load up.
01:46You can't just load up on Kyrie off the wing ball screen because now you throw it to Luka,
01:50Luka's got one-on-one.
01:52And I look at Luka as someone that is playing, was not playing the best offensively-wise,
01:57but has really shown up the last couple of games.
01:59I thought those four big threes early on knocked that crowd out right away.
02:04And I just look at a team that is playing well, all their parts seem to fit, and I do
02:10like Dallas to win NBA Finals in six games.
02:14Now, I think that as we get closer to the game, next Thursday is game one, so we'll
02:20have a lot of different options to discuss with you.
02:22But the initial option, at least on the FanDuel Sportsbook, is the length of the series.
02:26The odds makers, coach, have determined that this is going to be a lengthy one, at least
02:31from what I'm looking at here.
02:32Because you have plus 210 at five, plus 210 at six, so that means flip your coin on one
02:37of those two.
02:38And even a seven-game series, you don't generally see this.
02:42Usually in a series like this, you see three-to-one or three-and-a-half-to-one.
02:44It's plus 230.
02:46So, you've already put the gauntlet down and said it's going to be six games, but naturally,
02:51I like to see this from a sportsbook, where they're a little cautious as to predict whether
02:56or not it would be a quick series.
02:57It does not appear that they believe it will be one, at least on FanDuel.
03:01No, I think they think this is going to be a long series, and if you think about it,
03:05if you even think about the series spread right now on FanDuel, over five-and-a-half
03:09games is minus 165.
03:10They're telling you right then and there, they think it's six.
03:14And they don't want to put it at six-and-a-half, you know, because people may take the other
03:18and get plus money.
03:20So to me, you know, when you look at this, it's a series that is lined up like this.
03:27Boston is going to give you one stinker, generally speaking, OK?
03:32The question is, can Luka and Kyrie steal you another game?
03:38I think they can.
03:39So now we're looking at six games right now.
03:41So if you want to, if you'd rather play over five-and-a-half games and minus 165, I have
03:46nothing against that.
03:48I just think the better play I'm going to try and do is I just may take Dallas Mavericks
03:51plus 184 to win this series.
03:53It doesn't matter how many games they close it out in.
03:56People can look at the fact that maybe you take, if Dallas wins a series, Luka's going
04:00to be Finals MVP, plus 210 on FanDuel.
04:04I wouldn't be so sure of that.
04:06Because Kyrie is capable, and we've seen it, Craig, during his postseason, of taking
04:11the game over.
04:12So if you like Dallas, and you don't want to go Dallas in six, because you think that's
04:15a wild prediction, I think it's like five-and-a-half to one.
04:19Maybe the way to look at it is, take Dallas plus 184, take a small sprinkle in Kyrie at
04:2520-to-1 to win the MVP, because it's going to be interesting having him go back to Boston.
04:32Remember, when he was at the Nets, he came, he burned sage in a teeny-penny garden, not
04:37sticking to the movie Celtic Pride.
04:40With Daniel Stern and Dan Aykroyd, when he hijacked, you know, Damon Wayans, when he
04:45gets off the plane from Utah.
04:48I think this is going to be a fascinating series for Zingas going against a team that
04:54he was supposed to be the quarter-stern of Dallas.
04:55A lot of storylines here.
04:58But I like Dallas to win a series in six games, but it's better off maybe to take it at plus
05:02184 overall.