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Best Bets
Jayson Tatum over 5.5 assists (-125) at Mavericks
DraftKings, 4:06 PM CT
Alex Barutha: I believe this is a good bet regardless of whether or not Kristaps Porzingis plays, which doesn't seem like it will be known until close to tipoff. I understand the hand-wringing about Tatum's scoring, but his passing has been a strong point throughout the postseason. He's averaging 6.3 dimes in the playoffs. In Game 1, Tatum handed out five assists, and he reached his 2024 postseason high of 12 assists in Game 2.
Daniel Gafford O8.5 points vs. Celtics (+105)
FanDuel Sportsbook, 4pm CT
Nick Whalen: The Mavs leaned more heavily on Gafford, as anticipated, in Game 2, and I think we see a similar approach in Game 3, whether Kristaps Porzingis is active or not. Maxi Kleber has been a disaster, while Dereck Lively is yet to leave his mark on the series. Gafford has gone over this number in 11 of the last 14 games, and if Porzingis doesn't play, that should present Gafford with better opportunities to finish – particularly lobs – at the rim.
Luka Doncic over 1.5 steals (-125) versus Boston Celtics
DraftKings Sportsbook - 1:15 p.m. CT
Kirien Sprecher: Doncic has been criticized for his defensive efforts in Games 1 and 2 but has six steals in the Finals so far. He also has multiple steals in four of the last five and has averaged 2.2 steals over the last 13 postseason games. While Doncic is getting blown by, he's taking chances in the passing lanes and should be able to create a few more turnovers in Game 3 even if he's not playing sound defense.
I'm taking the OVER on Jayson Tatum to score 26.5 points
(-115, DraftKings, 2:45pm)
Ken Crites: In short, the All-NBA First Teamer is due. Tatum has been awesome through the first two games, doing EVERYTHING but scoring big. Porzingis' freak injury could definitely dump more of the scoring load on Tatum, who averaged 26.9 points per game during the regular season. Tatum is shooting only 31.6% in the Finals. He's a career 46% shooter. There is no way he continues to shoot this poorly. It's time to regress to his awesome mean. The K-Train is 35-29 this season, so feel free to fade!
