The Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics play Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night. Tip-off from TD Garden in Boston is at 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC). Below, we break down FanDuel Sportsbook’s'NBA Finals Game 1 prop bet odds and lines, and tab the 5 best Mavericks vs. Celtics prop bets to make among SportsbookWire’s expert NBA picks and predictions.
After a lengthy layoff since the conference finals, the Mavericks will play in their 1st NBA Finals since 2011 when they took home the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the only time in franchise history with Dirk Nowitzki leading the way against the Miami Heat. This is the Dallas’ 3rd NBA Finals trip as it lost to the Heat back in 2006.
The Boston Celtics are looking to break a tie with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers franchise for most NBA Championships. The C’s have 17, and would love to inch ahead in that rivalry.
Boston last appeared in the NBA Finals in 2022, falling in 6 games to the Golden State Warriors. Prior to that, the C’s fell to the Lakers in 7 games in 2010. Boston’s last title came in 2008 when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined a Doc Rivers’ team that already had Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo.