Betting My Way Through The Playoffs: Will Mavs Bounce Back At Home In Game 3?
ScoresAndOdds NBA betting expert Derek Farnsworth breaks down his Game 3 predictions for the Warriors vs. Mavericks on Sunday, May 22. Make sure to use our BetMGM promo for a $1000 free bet!
I’m still feeling the burn of the Celtics loss last night. I picked them for the purposes of this article series, but also had them in a few parlays. Even though Jimmy Butler missed the entire second half, the Celtics played far too sloppy to win Game 3 at home. Jayson Tatum had one of his worst games of the season and the team committed 23 turnovers. They went on plenty of small runs in the second half, but most were ended by careless and unforced mistakes from Boston.
I can’t remember a series of this magnitude with so many players going in and out of the lineup. We have already seen Marcus Smart, Jimmy Butler, Robert Williams, and Kyle Lowry play and sit out due to injury in the first three games.
Betting Through The NBA Playoffs: Running Totals
- Series Bets: 9-2
- Series Props: 3-4
- Series Profit/Loss: +0.53
- ATS Bets: 39-33-1
- ATS Profit/Loss: +2.3 units
- Total Profit/Loss: +3.83 units
Golden State Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks
As noted a few times already in this series, the Mavericks are going to live and die by the three-pointer. They couldn’t miss in the first half of Game 2 and were able to carry a 14-point lead into half-time. However, the Warriors went on a few of their patented runs in the second half and held the Mavericks to 13 points in the third quarter. They were able to cut the deficit to two points heading into the fourth quarter and then ran away with the game by scoring 43 points in the last 12 minutes.
The Mavericks shouldn’t be concerned in the slightest, as this is exactly how their second-round matchup against the Suns went. They lost each of the first two games by sizable margins but were able to bounce back and win the next two games at home. They were ultimately able to force a Game 7 and we all know what happened in that one. It’s strange seeing a team try to out-Warrior the Warriors, but that’s exactly what the game plan is for Golden State. They have already taken 87 three-pointers in the first two games of the series.
The Warriors have won a road game in 25 straight playoffs series, which is truly a marvel. I will likely bet on them in Game 4 and/or in Game 6, but I like to side with the home team when it’s the first home game of the series. The fans in Dallas will serve as the sixth man and hopefully help slow down some of the runs for the Warriors.
ATS Pick: Dallas -3