Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks Odds, Player Props & Picks (Jan. 22)

• Playing its second road game in as many nights, the Celtics are slight road favorites at the Mavericks
• Al Horford and Jrue Holiday are both questionable for Boston
• Get the Celtics vs Mavericks odds, player props, and picks on Monday night

The NBA-leading Boston Celtics (33-10, 13-9 away, ATS) face a stiff test on Monday night when they square off with the Dallas Mavericks (24-18, 13-9 home, ATS) just 24 hours after beating the Rockets in Houston (116-107).

Despite playing the second of back-to-backs in a hostile environment, the Celtics are listed as three-point road favorites. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:40 pm CT/8:40 pm ET.

Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks Odds

Boston is also a -155 moneyline favorite in Monday’s NBA odds while the Celtics come back as +130 home underdogs. The game total is sitting at 239.5.

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Odds as of Jan. 22 on the Caesars Sportsbook app. Claim SBD’s Caesars Sportsbook promo before betting on today’s NBA games. 

The Celtics remain the favorite in the NBA championship odds and currently hold the #1 seed in the East in the NBA playoff bracket. Dallas has slipped to the #6 seed in the West and would have the unenviable task of facing the reigning-champion Denver Nuggets in the first round if the postseason started today.

Celtics Start Road Trip on Right Foot

Boston started a quick three-game road trip last night in Houston with a 116-107 win over the Rockets, powered by 32 points from Kristaps Porzingis. The C’s opened up a 15-point lead by halftime and held off a Houston rally that saw the lead trimmed to three early in the fourth quarter.

Not only do the Celtics have the best win/loss record in the league, they also have the best Net Rating in the NBA, and it’s not particularly close. At +9.8, Boston is 1.7 ahead of the next-best team (76ers). Sitting third in Offensive Rating (120.1) and second in D-Rating (110.3), they are the only team in the top five of both categories.

Boston has done a reasonably good job of dealing with back-to-backs this season, going 5-2 in the second leg. That said, they’re only 2-2 on the road in such games, including a puzzling 121-118 OT loss to the lowly Charlotte Hornets. (9-31).

Doncic Returns in Loss to Lakers

Leading scorer (and fourth-favorite in the NBA MVP odds) Luka Doncic recently missed three games for Dallas due to an ankle sprain. While the Mavs lost 127-110 at the Lakers in his return last Wednesday, Doncic himself didn’t show many signs of rust, finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, two blocks, and two steals in 36 minutes.

Dallas was scheduled to play Friday against Golden State but the game was postponed due to the tragic passing of Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević. The result for Dallas is a rare five-day hiatus leading into Monday’s game against Boston.

Powered by Doncic, the Mavericks have the eight-best Offensive Rating in the NBA this season (117.5) but unlike the Celtics, they don’t pair their offensive prowess with a stifling D. Dallas is just 18th in Defensive Rating (116.4) and 14th in Net Rating (+1.1) as a result.

This will be the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Boston won both last year while the Mavs won both the season prior.

BOS vs DAL Player Props

Player props from the DraftKings Sportsbook app. 

Doncic is listed with the highest over/under point total on Monday at 32.5 in the NBA player props. Jayson Tatum (26.7 PPG) is the highest Celtic at 28.5, despite being held to 24 points or fewer in each of his past four games, and 27 or fewer in six straight. (This relative slump was preceded by four straight 30-plus-point games.)

Celtics vs Mavericks Prediction

If the Celtics had been able to rest their starters in the second half yesterday, I would feel more confident in their ability to win a second straight road game in 24 hours. But all of their starters played at least 31 minutes last night and Joe Mazzulla only played bodies for more than three minutes.

It appears likely that Al Horford will be back in the lineup tonight after missing the Houston game for “load management” reasons. But the same can’t be said of Jrue Holiday, who missed the Houston game with an elbow injury as is officially listed as day-to-day.

With both Doncic and Kyrie Irving healthy and rested, this is a prime spot for the Mavericks to pull of a small home upset.

BOS vs DAL picks:

• Mavericks moneyline (+130)
• Tatum under 28.5 points (-110)

Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:

• 10-10-2 ATS (-0.59 units)
• 11-12 ML (+0.83 units)
• 7-11 player props (-4.82 units)
• 0-1 same-game parlay (-2.00 units)

All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise.