Mavs vs Celtics NBA Finals Game 5 Odds, Injuries & Last Minute News

The Dallas Mavericks took their first step on Friday to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 series deficit. The Boston Celtics are not yet in genuine danger of that ignominious honor, but if they do not end the NBA Finals in tonight’s Game 5, the noise will start to pick up.

By now, the Covers.com free NBA picks provide all sorts of angles to ponder when looking at Mavs vs. Celtics predictions. Before tip at 8:30 ET on Monday, June 17, consider some last-minute thoughts and updates.

Mavs vs Celtics Game 5 news and notes

A Testament to Boston

This era of the Boston Celtics does not get its proper due. That is a natural side effect for a franchise with 17 championships. Any stretch that fails to match that standard is diminished.

But Boston has made the playoffs in each of Jayson Tatum’s seven seasons, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals five times and the NBA Finals twice. That kind of run should be praised.

This year has been a different level. The Celtics are on the verge of becoming just the third team to win at least 64 regular-season games and then survive four rounds of best-of-seven series while losing no more than five postseason games. Only the 2015 and 2017 Warriors have reached that standard. Joining them would warrant more appreciation for this Boston season.

And yet …

Because of the comical Game 4 score, a 122-84 Dallas Mavericks win, the Celtics could become the first team in more than a decade to win the NBA Finals despite being outscored in the series. The 2013 Heat held off the Spurs in seven Games — thanks to that infamous Ray Allen 3-pointer — but were outscored by five points in the series.

Aside from that seven-game series, every NBA champion had outscored its Finals opponent since 2005, when the Pistons fell in seven games to the Spurs, yet outscored them by 13 points.

That series also went seven games.

The last NBA champion to be outscored in the Finals in a series shorter than seven games? The 2000 Lakers, were outscored by 11 points by the Pacers.

Heading into Game 5, the Mavs have outscored the Celtics, 408-402. A five-point win by Boston tonight would put the Celtics into an odd subset of NBA champions. A 6.5-point spread certainly does not suggest such a narrow victory is terribly unlikely.

Bettors Remain against Boston

For a fifth straight game, splits from sportsbooks make it clear that bettors are backing Dallas.

As of Monday morning, BetMGM reported that 58% of bets had supported Dallas and 59% of the handle had done so. At least in this instance, those percentage splits do not indicate any emphasis from betting sharps.

It should, as always, be acknowledged that Mavs backers are just 1-2-1 in this series.

NBA Finals series odds before Game 4.

Celtics to win (-8000)

🔸Celtics in 4 (-115)
🔸Celtics in 5 (+170)
🔸Celtics in 6 (+1200)
🔸Celtics in 7 (+1200)

Mavericks to win (+2200)

🔸Mavericks in 7 (+2200)

Can the Mavericks complete the comeback? pic.twitter.com/EONqTt4u6s

— Covers (@Covers) June 15, 2024

NBA Finals series odds update

Before Game 1, the Celtics were -225 favorites to win this series. That Game 1 rout made them -450 favorites to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Taking a 2-0 lead raised that to -800 at BetMGM.

Before Dallas found its first win of the series, that price had risen all the way to -10,000. Winning one game lowered it to a mere -3,000.