NBA Finals Odds: Celtics Viewed As Huge Favorites Over Mavericks

The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks will meet next Thursday night at TD Garden for Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

It isn’t expected to be all that close.

The C’s are favored pretty heavily considering there’s nearly a week before the game, entering as 6.5-point favorites as of Friday, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. It’s a fairly accurate snapshot of how people see the series as a whole unfolding.

The Celtics (-210) have the advantage in terms of series prices, with the Mavericks (+190) sitting with the second-worst pre-series price of any team over the last five seasons. Boston’s expected to win in no more than six games according to the series spread (-1.5).

If you’re looking for some better numbers on the Celtics, perhaps you’ll consider prognosticating the exact series result.

2024 NBA Finals Odds
Boston Celtics 4-0 (+600)
Boston Celtics 4-1 (+340)
Boston Celtics 4-2 (+475)
Boston Celtics 4-3 (+350)
Dallas Mavericks 4-0 (+1900)
Dallas Mavericks 4-1 (+1200)
Dallas Mavericks 4-2 (+550)
Dallas Mavericks 4-3 (+800)

Boston’s standing as the favorite has Jayson Tatum in the running for MVP, leading the incomparable Luka Doncic.

NBA Finals MVP Odds
Jayson Tatum (-115)
Luka Doncic (+205)
Jaylen Brown (+650)
Kyrie Irving (22-1)
Derrick White (35-1)
Kristaps Porzingis (35-1)
Jrue Holiday (50-1)
P.J. Washington (300-1)
Al Horford (400-1)
Dereck Lively II (500-1)

It looks like folks are expecting Boston to raise Banner 18.