Dallas, TX

Who will win NBA Finals? Writers from Dallas, Boston make their Mavs-Celtics predictions

Published

7 months ago

June 5, 2024

Who will win NBA Finals? Writers from Dallas, Boston make their Mavs-Celtics predictions

Ahead of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics, columnists and beat writers from The Dallas Morning News and The Boston Globe collaborated to answer several questions and predict an outcome for the series, which starts Thursday in Boston.

Here are their predictions:

Mike Curtis

I’ve been 3-for-3 in predictions over the last three series, even though I was off by one game in the second and third rounds. The Celtics will be the toughest opponent the Mavs have faced during these playoffs, and the same can be said for Boston because of Dallas’ superstar backcourt and versatility on both ends of the floor. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are in a good rhythm, and if their offense is taken away, they can resort to a potent lob game with their two big men, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.

I don’t foresee many blowouts, and I think almost every game will go the distance, but I’m choosing the Mavericks in six games.

Tim Cowlishaw

Dallas goes where Luka goes, and Luka is the best player in the league today. Certainly he’s the best player in the league still active. I think the Celtics can do a better job on Kyrie Irving than the Wolves did — probably with Jrue Holiday guarding him — but there’s not that much to be done against Luka.

The teams have had a week or more to rest, and there’s an extra off day in the Finals between all games except 3 and 4 here in Dallas. That’s to Luka’s benefit more than anyone’s. The Celtics have had a soft playoff run against Miami without Jimmy Butler and others, Cleveland without Donovan Mitchell and an Indiana team that’s new to the playoff hunt.

Boston has been just as good as Dallas (maybe better) at closing out games, but I’ll still take Doncic with the ball in his hands for the final shot over Tatum, Brown and the rest. Sometimes teams just get on a roll, and Dallas is on one. Mavericks in five.

Shawn McFarland

Celtics in seven games. That’s no disrespect to the Mavericks, either. The Celtics had the best net rating in the regular season and postseason, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are playoff-tested, and Boston has lost just twice in three rounds.

This clearly isn’t the same Mavericks team that Boston beat twice in the regular season, of course, which sets up a competitive series. Don’t be surprised if Dallas takes one of the first two road games, though, to create a pivotal stretch at American Airlines Center.

Kevin Sherrington

Picking the Mavs to beat the Celtics feels like an affront to logic. Boston was, by record, the league’s best team and has been one of the best three years running. Some of us can still remember when the Mavs lost five of six after the deadline and Kidd’s job seemed in jeopardy. Still like to know what all went down in that famous team meeting.

Even as well as they played against Oklahoma City and Minnesota, the Mavs benefited from facing unseasoned players. Boston is a different story. But, these days, so is Dallas. I don’t think the Mavs will beat the Celtics, but I’m tired of being wrong. Mavs in seven.

Brad Townsend

Boston was the best NBA team over the course of the season, but Dallas has been the best team of the past 2.5 months.

The Celtics’ 10-day layover between games, and [Kristaps] Porzingis not having played in two months, will be factors early in the series — along with the fact that Boston hasn’t faced competition of Dallas’ caliber since the regular season, as the Celtics’ playoff path has been paved against injury-racked opponents.

Those factors will help Dallas win one of the first two games in Boston. After that, the series will come down to the Mavericks having the series’ best player, Doncic, and the series’ best two closers, Doncic and Irving. Mavericks in six.

Chad Finn

Celtics in 6. The Mavericks have the best player in the series in Luka Doncic, and the biggest wild-card in Kyrie Irving, who has been playing magnificent basketball but has some, uh, baggage with the Celtics. They are a duo to be reckoned with, capable of stealing games on their own. But they will not steal the series, because the Celtics are the better team. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are a dynamic duo, but it’s the depth and versatility of the Celtics’ top six that will deliver Banner 18 to Boston, particularly the selfless backcourt duo of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

Adam Himmelsbach

Celtics in 5. I think this is the first time I’ve ever picked the Celtics to win a title. But it’s going to happen. There’s a reason they won 14 more games than the Mavericks during the regular season, and even though they’ve traveled a smoother road during these playoffs, they’ve mostly dismantled their competition.

Everyone will be watching Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and their wizardry with the basketball, but the other end of the floor will be most important, as the Celtics relentlessly hunt mismatches against both players, tiring them out in the process.

Christopher L. Gasper

Celtics in 6. The Celtics finally face a team with its full complement of talent. The dynamic duos of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving cross each other out. But Boston’s path to Banner 18 is strength in numbers. The Celtics have multiple players who can form a Big Three with The Jays any given night — Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Al Horford, and a returning Kristaps Porziņģis, who like Irving is seeking Finals redemption against a former team. The Celtics margin for error and victory is simply greater than that of the peaking Mavs.

Dan Shaughnessy

Mavericks in 7. Please don’t be offended. It’s Jayson Tatum’s time. It’s Jaylen Brown’s time. The Celtics have the best roster, won the most games, and are 12-2 in the playoffs. But I still don’t trust them and have nightmares about Kyrie Irving winning it here.

Khari Thompson

Celtics in 6. The Celtics have too much depth on both ends of the floor for Dallas to match. All five starters, plus Al Horford, have shown that they can take over a game offensively. They’ve rolled through the first three rounds without Kristaps Porzingis. Jayson Tatum’s 3-point shot isn’t falling, but his game is so well-rounded that it hasn’t mattered much. Stopping Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will be a tall task, but there’s arguably no team better equipped to contain them than the Celtics, who have one of the league’s best defensive backcourts in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

Gary Washburn

Celtics in 6. The Celtics have a deeper team, have had more than a week to prepare and appear ready for this moment. There are no excuses. They are healthy with Kristaps Porzingis returning, rested, and motivated. The Mavericks will be their biggest challenge and it will take more than this team has ever given to win a playoff series, but they are capable and it’s their time.

Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas faces conference rival Denver

Published

2 hours ago

January 11, 2025

Press Room

Associated Press

Denver Nuggets (22-15, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Dallas Mavericks (22-16, fifth in the Western Conference)

Dallas; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets visit Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

The Mavericks have gone 16-13 against Western Conference opponents. Dallas is ninth in the NBA with 45.2 rebounds led by Dereck Lively averaging 8.2.

The Nuggets have gone 14-10 against Western Conference opponents. Denver is third in the NBA scoring 120.6 points per game while shooting 49.9%.

The Mavericks average 116.4 points per game, 0.1 fewer points than the 116.5 the Nuggets give up. The Nuggets score 8.8 more points per game (120.6) than the Mavericks allow (111.8).

TOP PERFORMERS: Irving is shooting 49.0% and averaging 24.3 points for the Mavericks.

Russell Westbrook is shooting 45.9% and averaging 12.9 points for the Nuggets.

LAST 10 GAMES: Mavericks: 4-6, averaging 111.1 points, 43.9 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 7.0 steals and 7.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.9 points per game.

Nuggets: 6-4, averaging 122.8 points, 45.5 rebounds, 32.0 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.1 points.

INJURIES: Mavericks: Dante Exum: out (wrist), Luka Doncic: out (calf), Kyrie Irving: out (illness).

Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), Jamal Murray: day to day (knee), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Spencer Jones: day to day (thigh), Vlatko Cancar: out (knee).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Dallas, TX

Former Dallas Cowboys DE, Robert Quinn, arrested in South Carolina

Published

14 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Former Dallas Cowboys DE, Robert Quinn, arrested in South Carolina

article

Robert Quinn (Charleston Co. Jail)

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn was arrested in South Carolina Friday morning after police said he tried to leave the scene of an accident.

Quinn, 34, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and reckless driving, jail records show.

What we know:

Police in North Charleston, South Carolina responded to a car dealership just after 2 a.m. Friday because of a collision involving a red truck.

The North Charleston Fire Department arrived first on the scene and told police that the suspect might be attempting to leave the scene of the crash in another car.

When police arrived, they found Quinn in the passenger seat of a white Dodge Challenger that had its reverse lights on. The vehicle’s driver placed the car in park and told police she had been called by Quinn to “pick him up,” according to a police report.

Police said Quinn had visible injuries to his head and face, had slurred speech and was uncooperative with officers who asked for his identification.

Quinn eventually provided his identification to officers, but asked himself “where is my wallet” while his wallet was in his hand before dropping it in his lap.

The police report states a maroon Ford F-150 registered to Quinn was on the other side of the parking lot and looked to be the vehicle that started the collision.

Police said Quinn’s truck hit the passenger side of a Honda Element, which was pushed into a blue Ford F-150 that hit another car.

Officers asked Quinn to get out of the Challenger, but Quinn resisted by holding the door to the car, the report states. Police removed Quinn from the vehicle, and he was “escorted to the ground” by officers because he was trying to pull away from them.

Officers interviewed the woman with Quinn, who said she had met him at G-Club, a gentleman’s club, where she works, earlier that night.

Another employee of the club came to the scene and said Quinn had left alone about an hour before the collision happened.

Timeline:

Police said they used city cameras to build a timeline of the crash.

The police report states Quinn’s truck was seen driving down the road around 2 a.m. Friday and was veering left, crossed an intersection, a median and then onto dealership property.

City cameras did not pick up the collision, but it can be heard, the police report states.

Police said around 2:03 a.m. a single person is seen walking through the parking lot and a few minutes later that person walked to a Valero gas station.

At 2:07 a.m., the person is seen walking back to the dealership parking lot while stumbling and falling several times, the police report states.

About a minute later, a white Dodge Challenger is seen entering the parking lot around the same time that the fire department arrived, according to the report.

Dallas Cowboys Defensive End

Quinn played the 2019 season with the Dallas Cowboys after being traded from the Miami Dolphins for a sixth-round pick.

Quinn was suspended for the first two games of the season after violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. He was named the team’s starting right defensive end when he was reinstated.

Quinn finished the season with 25 tackles, 11.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

Quinn signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Chicago Bears the following season.

Quinn was drafted 14th overall by the St. Louis Rams in 2011 and spent six years with the team before going to Miami, Dallas, Chicago and ending his career in 2022 with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Quinn was born in North Charleston, South Carolina, where he played high school football before playing college football for the University of North Carolina.

The backstory:

This isn’t Quinn’s first tangle with law enforcement.

July 2012 – Florissant, Mo.

Quinn was arrested for driving while intoxicated in July 2012 in Florissant, Missouri, while a member of the St. Louis Rams.

Florissant police said Quinn was involved in a single-car accident on an exit ramp of Interstate 270 on July 10, 2012. Police said he was cooperative with them during the arrest.

Quinn was also charged with failure to exercise a high degree of care and having no insurance.

August 2023 – Summerville, S.C.

In August 2023, Quinn was arrested in Summerville, South Carolina after police found four unoccupied vehicles in a subdivision had been damaged.

At some point, Quinn allegedly exited his vehicle and got into a physical altercation with a woman before leaving the scene.

According to an accident report, a Ford F-150 truck crashed into multiple vehicles. Responding officers proceeded to search the vehicle and found an empty whiskey bottle on the passenger side floorboard.

Per the police report, the unidentified woman was sitting in her driveway when the suspect hit two parked vehicles. The driver then exited the truck and offered to buy her beer, the woman told investigators.

Quinn was charged with third-degree assault and battery, hit-and-run of an attended vehicle, four counts of hit-and-run property damage and striking fixtures on or adjacent to the highway.

What’s next:

Quinn was booked into the Charleston County, South Carolina jail.

Jail records show Quinn has a preliminary court date set for Feb. 27, 2025.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the North Charleston police department and previous FOX reporting.

Crime and Public SafetySouth CarolinaDallas Cowboys

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Snowfall Totals: How much snow fell on Thursday and Friday?

Published

23 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Dallas Snowfall Totals: How much snow fell on Thursday and Friday?

DALLAS – North Texas got less snow than expected overnight.

FOX 4 Weather Meteorologist Evan Andrews said it was one of those crazy forecasts where some people got exactly what they expected, and others got the opposite.

“Some of you got that heavier precipitation [on Thursday]. Others were waiting for some overnight, and the precip overnight really never got going. We got a little bit of light snow on the backend but not a ton,” he said.

For snow lovers, the snow that was on the ground from Thursday is still there. However, the total accumulation did not increase much overnight.

Snowfall Totals (as of 4 a.m. Friday)

Overall, the areas of highest accumulation were north of Highway 182 in Cooke and Grayson counties. Areas like Gainesville, Sherman, and Bonham got more than 6 inches of snow.

A lot of people in Wise, Denton, and Collin counties got between 3 and 6 inches.

Fort Worth and North Dallas saw between 1 and 3 inches.

People south of Dallas got less than an inch of snow.