The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics begin the NBA Finals on Thursday night. ESPN analysts are fairly split on who will take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In a panel of 17 ESPN reporters and pundits, the Mavericks narrowly received a 9-8 edge over the Celtics. That doesn’t reflect Boston entering the championship stage as a -210 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook.
However, everyone agrees that the Finals won’t be short. Each expert picked the series to go six or seven games.
Every Celtics backer identified Jayson Tatum as their Finals MVP. Seven people chose Luka Doncic, and two selected Kyrie Irving.
Despite missing Kristaps Porzingis, Boston cruised through the Eastern Conference with little opposition. Facing the Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler, they notched all four wins by double-digits in a five-game set.
The No. 1 seed caught another break when Donovan Mitchell missed the final two games of their second-round series. Boston dispatched the Cleveland Cavaliers in five, averaging a 15-point victory margin.
The Celtics cemented their second Eastern Conference crown in the last three years by sweeping the No. 6 seeded Indiana Pacers. Joe Mazzulla’s squad took Game 1 in overtime and won the final two matchups by three points each.
On the other hand, the Mavericks faced a tougher path to the Finals. They defeated the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder in six games apiece despite ceding home-court advantage as the No. 5 seed.
Doncic and Irving then led Dallas to a five-game victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who previously eliminated the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The public seems to share the confidence of some ESPN experts, as approximately 80 percent of bets this week were placed on the underdogs to prevail.
Game 1 starts Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.