Boston at Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks didn't have a lot of problems beating teams at home last year - they had problems beating them by enough. The Mavericks were 28-13 straight-up at home a year ago, but a pathetic 10-30-1 ATS. That means that the team did what they were supposed to do at home - win the bulk of their games, but the points mattered in 18 of them. Boston had a big marker game last night in Oklahoma City, and won rather handily. This is a team with aging stars that can still bring it. But on back-to-back nights vs. two good teams, I would expect a performance that will lack the intensity they had last night. The Celtics have already shown that after beating Miami, then going to Cleveland as a favorite and losing outright. They won at Detroit by 23 points, but the next night at home needed OT to get past Milwaukee. I look for an inspired effort by Dallas, and a lackluster performance by Boston here. With Dallas playing tough at home, but struggling against the number, I'll opt for the Mavericks on the moneyline.