The NBA has a monster Saturday of action with 28 teams playing on the day before Conference Championship Sunday. One of the marquee matchups is a rematch of the NBA Finals as the Boston Celtics roll into Dallas to take on the Mavericks. There will be plenty of hype for what should be a great game to watch, so let’s take a look at some of the best Celtics-Mavericks prop bets to consider for Saturday.
The Celtics are eight-point road favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook and the point total is 224. Boston listed Derrick White (knee) as questionable, while Dallas listed Klay Thompson (ankle) and Jaden Hardy (ankle) as questionable. The Mavs are also without Luka Doncic (calf), Naji Marshall (illness), Dereck Lively II (ankle) and Dwight Powell (hip).
Best Prop Bets for Celtics at Mavericks on DraftKings Sportsbook
Kristaps Porzingis to score over 18.5 points (-125)
Porzingis has been very good since joining the Celtics after offseason surgery. He has played 20 games for Boston and gone over this point total in 13 of those contests (65%). He has at least 18 points in eight straight games and has gone over this total in both blowout wins and ugly losses. Even when he was in foul trouble last Friday, Porzingis had 23 points in 23 minutes.
The Mavericks are thin in the frontcourt without Lively, Powell and Marshall. Daniel Gafford has been very good filling in on offense but his defense isn’t quite as strong as when the Mavs are at full strength.
Since he missed last year’s playoff meetings, Porzingis has faced the Mavericks just twice since being traded to Washington. He had 24 points in each of those meetings, but this will be his first time playing against the Mavs in Dallas since the trade.
With that extra motivation and given his recent scoring trends, this seems like a good spot for him to go over, and it could even be worth considering picking him to go off at longer odds like 30+ Points + Rebounds + Assists at +105 or even taking a home run shot with 40+ Points + Rebounds + Assists at +550.
Jaylen Brown over 1.5 three-pointers (-135)
Brown has made multiple three-pointers in three of the last four games for the Celtics, including each of his last two games, which were against the Clippers and Lakers in Los Angeles earlier this week. He is shooting just 32.6% on three-point shots this season but had been better over his last six games, shooting 38.5% from long range.
He has made multiple three-pointers in 13 of his last 15 games against the Mavericks, and he continues to get plenty of usage in Boston’s offense to make him a good pick to go over this total in a game that will feature plenty of three-point attempts from both sides.
Kyrie Irving 6+ assists (+120)
My favorite plus-money option in Saturday’s game is Kyrie to be the creator against his former team. Kyrie had just four assists in his most recent game on Thursday but went over this total in his previous game against the Timberwolves. He has at least six assists in seven of his last nine games without Luka Doncic.
The Celtics will commit to keeping Kyrie from beating them, which could allow him to find his teammates for good opportunities. Irving will definitely be ready to go against the Green and likely play heavy minutes with opportunities to create. His point totals feel a little inflated already, due to that motivation, but his assist numbers are still very attractive.
