2024 NBA Finals Predictions: Experts Make Celtics-Mavs Picks, originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are the favorites for the 2024 NBA Finals, and for good reason. They had the best record (64-18) in the regular season and then rolled through the Eastern Conference Playoffs with 12 wins in 14 games.
But despite the impressive stats and results, many people are not only giving the Dallas Mavericks a great chance to win the series, they’re also picking the Mavs to actually pull off the upset.
For example, ESPN published its expert predictions for the series on Thursday and nine of the seventeen picks favored the Mavericks.
The Mavs are a very good team and defeated three 50-win opponents in the Western Conference Playoffs to reach the finals. Luka Doncic is considered the best player in the series, and his teammate Kyrie Irving is an elite offensive player with championship-winning experience.
But the Celtics are a more talented and deeper team. They are in the top three in most statistics during the play-offs, as the table below shows.
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Will the Celtics win an 18th championship, or will the Mavericks pull off another upset and claim the franchise’s second title?
Here’s a look at expert predictions for Celtics-Mavs (with number of games, if any).
Game 1 is Thursday night at 8:30 PM ET in Boston, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage starting at 7:00 PM Celtics Pregame Live.
Zach Lowe, ESPN: Celtics in six
Scott Van Pelt, ESPN: Celtics
Kendrick Perkins, ESPN: Celtics in seven
Tim Bontemps, ESPN: Celtics in six
Israel Gutierrez, ESPN: Mavs in six
Chris Haring, ESPN: Mavs in six
Tim Legler, ESPN: Mavs in seven
Bobby Marks, ESPN: Mavs in six
Dave McMenamin, ESPN: Mavs in six
Kevin Pelton, ESPN: Celtics in seven
Ryen Russillo, The Bell: Celtics in seven
John Hollinger, The Athletics: Celtics in six
Charles Barkley, NBA on TNT: Celtics
Kenny Smith, NBA on TNT: Celtics
Shaquille O’Neal, NBA on TNT: Mav
Draymond Green, Warriors/NBA on TNT: Mavs in six
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, SiriusXM: Celtics in six
Nick Wright, FOX Sports1: Mavs in five
Chris Broussard, FOX Sports1: Mavs in six
Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY: Celtics in six
James Herbert, CBS Sports: Celtics
Sam Quinn, CBS Sports: Mav
