Luka Doncic, Mavs in interesting betting spot

The NBA conference finals are set after Sunday’s pair of Game 7s provided very little drama. The Boston Celtics pulled away in the second half to beat the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks by 28 points. Surprisingly, that was the most competitive game of the day. In the most shocking result of the entire postseason, the Mavericks obliterated the top-seeded Suns by 33 points in front of their home crowd in Phoenix. The game was over by halftime with Dallas up 57-27, with Luka Doncic’s 27 first-half points matching the output of the entire Suns team.

The results of both games were a lot to digest. Who could have predicted after Phoenix’s 30-point win in Game 5 that the Mavericks would respond by winning two straight and complete the upset of a team that won 64 games during the regular season? Or that Boston would bounce back after Jrue Holiday’s steal in Game 5 capped off an 11-2 run to give the Bucks a 3-2 edge in the series. Both the Bucks and Suns, last year’s conference champions, looked like locks to return to the conference finals. And now it’s sunscreen and nine irons for both these teams until next season.

Make no mistake, fans are getting everything they could ask for with the two remaining matchups. From a betting perspective, both should be highly competitive. The Warriors are the biggest series favorite at -250, but if Steph Curry isn’t ready to pass the torch to Luka yet, he better get rid of the Mavericks in six games. If there is one player who might be an auto bet in Game 7s going forward, it’s Doncic.

The NBA playoff schedule resumes Tuesday night with Boston and Miami. The Western Conference final follows on Wednesday, allowing an additional day of rest. I will have my best bets for each Game 1 on Tuesday, but here are some important points that I will be taking into consideration when wagering on these two critical series.

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