Celtics vs. Mavericks Opening Odds Will Thrill Boston Fans
We may not have seen both Conference Finals series end in sweeps, but that doesn't mean there's any real doubt in who the Boston Celtics will face in their 23rd NBA Finals appearance. Barring an absolutely historic collapse, the Celtics will be taking on the Dallas Mavericks. And with this matchup all but set in stone, FanDuel Sportsbook has already released odds for the "hypothetical" matchup.
Here's a quick spoiler: Celtics fans are going to love what they see.
Celtics vs. Mavericks NBA Finals Odds
FanDuel has opened the Celtics as massive -240 favorites for a series against the Mavs, with Dallas coming back as a +194 underdog. That gives the Celtics an implied probability of 70.6% to win the series. And if you remove the cut the sportsbooks take, you get a "real" projection right around 67.5%.
It's not just full-series odds that paint a beautiful picture either. Check out the odds for the final series score:
- Celtics in 5: +280
- Celtics in 7: +400
- Celtics in 6: +500
- Mavericks in 6: +550
- Celtics in 4: +650
- Mavericks in 7: +850
- Mavericks in 5: +1200
- Mavericks in 4: +2500
And how about converting that into a series spread? The Celtics are getting -1.5 games with equal -110 odds on both sides. That means they're projected to be as likely to win the series by 2 games or more (i.e. win it in 6 or fewer) as they are to have any other result happen.
Things are so lopsided the the Celtics even have the odds-on favorite (meaning he's projected for better than a 50% chance to win the award) in Jayson Tatum. Here are the current NBA Finals MVP odds, keeping in mind that this is the full market (so it's not just pending a hypothetical Celtics-Mavs matchup):
- Jayson Tatum (-130)
- Luka Doncic (+270)
- Jaylen Brown (+600)
- Anthony Edwards (+1500)
- Kyrie Irving (+2500)
- Kristaps Porzingis (+5000)
- Derrick White (+6500)
Now, we obviously don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Celtics fans have had enough playoff heartbreak over the years to know that nothing is guaranteed. But also, let's get ahead of ourselves. Because next year's NBA Finals odds are already out on FanDuel too. And they're pretty wild.
2024-25 NBA Championship Odds
Team | Odds | Implied Prob. | 2023-24 Championship Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
Boston Celtics | +350 | 22.2% | -230 |
Denver Nuggets | +850 | 10.5% | N/A |
Minnesota Timberwolves | +900 | 10.0% | +1400 |
Dallas Mavericks | +950 | 9.5% | +240 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | +950 | 9.5% | N/A |
Milwaukee Bucks | +1000 | 9.1% | N/A |
You're reading that right — Boston is considered more than twice as likely to win next year's championship as any other team. I don't want to use the "D" word (that's a lie, yes I do), but a series win over the Mavericks could be the beginning of the C's starting their journey as the NBA's next dynasty.
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.