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Sportsbooks Take Mavs Seriously As Title Contender But Fans Still Aren’t Convinced

#Kyrie Irving
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Kyrie Irving sits on the bench.

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The Dallas Mavericks made their move to become an NBA championship contender on Sunday. The Mavs nabbed guard Kyrie Irving from the Nets over the weekend to give Luka Doncic another superstar to play with.

Sportsbooks have taken note of the trade, adjusting the team’s title odds for the 2022-23 season.

Prior to the deal, Dallas sat at 28-26 on the year. That was good for sixth place in the Western Conference standings. While the Mavs seemed likely to land another playoff berth this spring, not many truly considered Dallas to be a Finals contender.

Much of that was due to not having a proven playmaker alongside Luka Doncic.

Fans in Dallas had grown more and more frustrated with management this season as it failed to add help to the roster. One fan even got into an online exchange with owner Mark Cuban after painting a mural on his local business building titled, “Please Send Help.”

It appears that Cuban’s heeded the advice, and now, he’s significantly improved the Mavs’ championship chances with the Kyrie Irving addition.

Dallas saw a massive boost at the sportsbooks, going from around a 20/1 longshot to 14/1. That jump places them as one of the NBA’s top 8 title candidates.

NBA insider Shams Charania spoke about that improvement on Twitter.

Following the trade for eight-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving, the Mavs have moved from +1900 to +1400 to win the NBA championship.

While the market adjustment can be seen at the books, many fans still don’t believe Dallas can win it all. Some posted their reactions online after seeing the recent boost in odds.

One fan wrote, “Went from a first round exit to a first round exit.” A number of others agreed.

Kyrie Irving joins the Mavs after averaging 27.1 points per game in Brooklyn this year. The eight-time All-Star should now give Dallas one of the more dynamic backcourts in all of basketball.

While some don’t see the Mavericks as a championship threat quite yet, there’s no denying that the talent has been upgraded in Texas.