The Boston Celtics enter game 4 of the NBA finals up 3-0 against the Dallas Mavericks. After finishing the regular season with a 64-18 record the Celtics are 15-2 in the playoffs leaving them with a 79-20 and an opportunity to finish the 2024 season with a 80-20 record or .800 winning percentage.
Oddsmakers have shifted in favor of Boston as 1.5 point favorites who were 1.5 point underdogs earlier in the day. The Celtics dynamic duo of Jaylen Brown, 30 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and Jayson Tatum, 31 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists took over in game 3 to lead the Celtics to a 106-99 victory over Dallas.
Luka Doncic’s 6th foul with just over 4 minutes to go ended the momentum of Dallas’ furious 4th quarter comeback. Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 35 points on 28 shots while Doncic chipped in with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists but it was the 6th foul that ended Luka’s night down 93-90 late in the 4th quarter. Kyrie attempted to put Dallas’ fate on his back but fell short.
The biggest challenge for Dallas in this series is defensively against the Celtics. Luka Doncic’s inability to guard any of Boston’s creators on offense is a major issue. The Celtics have been involving Luka on every possession and is quite apparent he can’t guard anyone. Some media members have questioned Luka’s conditioning but we think this is just a bad matchup for Dallas and they are just overwhelmed by the Celtics who have three point shooters on the court at all times. The Celtics ability to drive the ball to the middle and find shooters is a recipe for disaster for Dallas.
It is time to get out the broom. We expect the Celtics to wrap up the series tonight with a sweep and finish the season with an 80-20 record. Banner #18 is heading to the TD Garden in Boston. No one expected the Mavericks to advance to the NBA finals and the biggest question for the Mavericks franchise is do they have enough talent on their roster to get back to the finals?