NBA Playoffs 2023/24, Conference Finals, Game 3, Monday, 27.05.2024
Betting providers with a German license have recognized that the pendulum has swung in the Texans’ direction. It will now be very difficult for the Wolves to turn this deficit around.
Since the home side has the famous “momentum” on their side, it’s now even easier for me to place a corresponding win tip on the Mavs.
To kick off this series, I recommended a successful player bet on Kyrie Irving. And “Uncle Drew” did indeed help the Mavericks to a narrow but deserved 108-105 victory in Game 1 with his 30 points.
In my Timberwolves Mavericks prediction for Game 2, I then sided directly with the Texans – and lo and behold, they also won this match as underdogs with 109:108.
Now it’s off to Texas and the Wolves are in a truly awkward position. No team in the history of the NBA play-offs has ever recovered from 0:3 after the first three games of a series
When Luka Doncic gets the ball in the decisive phase, the opposing defense is almost always faced with a choice: double-team or lose.
This even applies to the Timberwolves’ four-time star defender Rudy Gobert. It is particularly difficult for big players like him to defend the Mavericks’ superstar at the three-point line.
Doncic went one-on-one, dribbled a few times, faked a drive and then hit the step-back three. As long as the Slovenian is allowed to churn out 30 points a game, it will be difficult for Minnesota to see the light in the NBA Finals.
The Mavs will keep winning until the Wolves’ star player finally wakes up! Edwards had a nightmare game, for the third game in a row he didn’t perform at the level we’re used to seeing from him, hitting 5 of 17 shots for 21 points.
Worse still, with a two-point lead and 12.8 seconds on the clock, Edwards lost his nerve and threw a pass out of bounds. In this series, he hit just 11 of 33 shots and if we include Game 7 against Denver, he made just 17 of 57.
The Wolves may not recover from this. Unless something extraordinary happens, the Mavericks seem to have understood how to restrict “The Ant” and take away his desire to play
By the way: You can also fall out of favor very quickly in basketball, as Kyrie Irving knows. He was on the verge of becoming a scapegoat in Game 2 when he missed two free throws with a three-point deficit and 1:44 minutes to go.
In total, he missed three free throws in the final quarter, which was surprising considering his career rate of 88%. Fortunately, however, he had Doncic at his side to save him.
The Slovenian made up for his mistake by hitting a three-pointer with 65 seconds left to bring the Mavs to within two points, which later even enabled him to score the game-winner.
This tendency of the two Mavs superstars to step into each other’s shoes when there’s a dip in the other’s performance is another aspect that gives me confidence that Dallas will continue to produce points consistently in Game 3.
In addition, the Timberwolves’ once outstanding defensive effort is showing weaknesses. They have not been as good as they were against the Nuggets for a long time.
Nevertheless, there is one player among the visitors who I would possibly recommend for a player bet in Game 3. He was one of the few players who stood out positively for Minnesota last Saturday.
The “Kia Sixth Man of the Year” was the Wolves’ best man in Game 2 and Naz Reid even came close to achieving hero status.
He tormented the Mavericks with deep throws and hit 7 of 9 three-pointers. He had a clear view on the last shot of the game, but the ball just hit the hoop. Still, Reid remains a factor the Mavs will have to watch out for again tonight.
In the first two games, most sports betting apps still assigned the Wolves the clear favorite role, now the situation is just the opposite – and not only because of the changing home court.
The Texans have proven that they can provide the better answers to crack the opponent’s system. Furthermore, the pressure of being 2-0 down in games contributes to the fact that the visitors could show more nerves tonight.
In any case, according to the current Mavericks Timberwolves odds, you will get an average of 1.67 for a home win and around 2.25 for an away win on your cell phone display or monitor
Conclusion: I think that the point of highest resistance has already been passed. I don’t rule out that the series could be shipped to Minnesota again, but then it would be 3:1 in favor of the Mavs at worst.
The Texans now know how to crack this defensively strong opponent. In addition, Luka Doncic is and remains a player who makes the difference and always turns up the heat, especially in the decisive phase of the game.
On the other hand, I didn’t like Edwards at all on Saturday and his pass into space probably stung the heart of every Wolves fan.
In any case, my Mavericks Timberwolves tip remains: The Mavs soon lead 3:0.
