Celtics vs. Mavericks Game Four NBA Finals Prediction: Boston Looking for the Sweep

The Boston Celtics are looking for a 4-0 sweep in the NBA Finals as they prepare to take on the Dallas Mavericks in the heart of Texas on Friday.

The Celtics claim their 3-0 lead through a strong emphasis on team basketball and by routinely coming up with timely plays. They won by going ahead early, pulling ahead late, and making clutch plays, showing their overall superiority to a Dallas team many believed would upset the highly-favored C’s.

Dallas was left out to dry by Luka Doncic, who fouled out of Game Three after picking up several unnecessary fouls in the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving scored 35 points but missed a fallaway three with a chance to bring his team within one point in the final 20 seconds, cementing their loss.

Here, we will go over the betting odds and share our favorite pick for Game Four of the Celtics vs. Mavericks NBA Finals.

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Celtics vs. Mavericks Game Four Betting Odds for Friday, June 14

The Celtics are 50-43-6 (53.8 percent) against the spread and 2-2 (50 percent) ATS as a road favorite, though they covered in this same spot in Game Three. They’re 9-8 (52.9 percent) ATS in the playoffs and 2-0-1 ATS in this series.

The Mavericks are 59-42-1 (58.4 percent) ATS and 19-18 (51.4 percent) ATS as a home favorite. They’re 11-9 (55 percent) ATS in the playoffs but have not won or covered one time in five meetings against Boston in the regular and postseason.

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Celtics vs. Mavericks Game Four Prediction

Boston Celtics Preview

It’s hard to speak enough praise about the Celtics in these Finals. They were often underrated or overlooked during the regular season and even after a run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, which included their only two losses of the postseason. 

The Celtics’ key to the series, as mentioned above, has been their commitment to the collective. Their top six players all made major contributions, while the bench rotation of Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Xavier Tillman all finished with positive plus-minus figures in Game Three.

Although Boston only shot 33.9 percent from beyond the arc in the Finals, they held the Mavericks to 28.2 from three and did not allow them to make double-digit threes a single time. They accomplished this primarily by taking away corner threes, even if it meant allowing Doncic or Irving to cruise to the rim without showing any help defense.

Above all else, the Celtics answered the bell when it mattered the most. They posted an absurd +62.6 net rating in clutch time against the Mavericks, who finished the regular season with the best record in clutch games and who have the best two closers in the game.

Boston has been better on the road than at home in the playoffs over the last couple of seasons, which is why it was a bit of a surprise to see them listed as an underdog in the last two games. A win will bring them their first championship since 200, and Dallas is still yet to make a case that they will give Boston a real challenge.

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Dallas Mavericks Preview

This is proving to be quite a disappointing end for a Mavericks team that was outstanding after the trade deadline and that was scorching-hot entering the Finals.

The team started by simply not showing up for the first two games (aside from Doncic), only for their leader to display constant immaturity throughout Game Three.

Barking at the refs, falling to the ground unnecessarily and refusing to hustle back on defense, and fouling out of the game all worked to the detriment of Dallas in a game they needed to win to have a shot at coming back in the series. Instead, the loss put them in an 0-3 hole that no team in NBA history has ever recovered from. 

Dallas made the third-most three-pointers per game during the regular season but looks like a totally different team without their trusted corner three, facilitated by Doncic and Irving’s ability to collapse the defense.

Jason Kidd tinkered with his rotations to no avail in Game Three. Tim Hardaway Jr. was reinserted into the team’s plans but was a -16 in 19 minutes as Daniel Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. only played 16 minutes apiece.

The Mavericks are still yet to score 100 points in this series, which is a stark contrast to the style of game Kidd said he was comfortable with letting his team play. Even though their defense has been solid, they seem incapable of generating enough offense to keep pace with Boston.

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Celtics vs. Mavericks Game Four Betting Pick

Dallas had its selling points before the series, but none of them played out. The biggest disappointment is their performance in the clutch, which has been nothing short of abysmal, especially against a team whose biggest question mark was their mettle down the stretch of close games.

Boston is just the better team in every way, and that’s despite Jayson Tatum shooting the ball at a historically poor clip. 

It’s often savvy to pick the team trailing 0-3 in Game Four, but we expect the Celtics to win their first title in 16 years on Friday night by covering and beating the Mavericks outright on their own court.

• Celtics vs. Mavericks pick: Celtics +1.5 (-120) at BetMGM

How to Watch Celtics vs. Mavericks Game Four

• When: Friday, June 14 @ 7:30/8:30 p.m. CT/ET

• Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX

• TV: ABC