The Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans both made moves at the trade deadline, bringing a different look to Thursday’s 8 p.m. ET tip-off.
Dallas (34-24) broke up the tandem of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis by trading away Porzingis to the Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Upgrading depth was a need in the Mavs’ eyes as Dinwiddie gives them a veteran point guard to bring off the bench or play alongside Doncic. Bertans has struggled this season, but perhaps a change of scenery gets him going.
New Orleans (23-35) added wing C.J. McCollum to the mix in hopes of pairing the star with Zion Williamson, who remains out indefinitely with a foot injury. It was clearly a move geared toward the future as the Pelicans are 11th, and though they’re not out of the play-in tournament, Portland is on a four-game winning streak and building separation.
The line for the game opened at Dallas -3.5 with an over/under of 215, both of which have stuck as of this writing.
New Orleans Pelicans Betting Preview
The Pelicans clearly miss Williamson’s presence, and Brandon Ingram hasn’t had enough support to get this team on a winning track. Since winning four straight, New Orleans has lost three of its last four, though the win was a 30-point blowout of Toronto as home underdogs.
Overall they are 26th in the NBA in scoring (106.1 points per game), 25th in field goal efficiency (44..6%), and 27th on 3s (32.7%). Defensively they are OK, a league-average 15th allowing 109.3 points per game, but they may have to do with pace as they are 22nd and 25th in field goal and 3-point percentage, respectively.
This season they are 13-16 at home, 28-29-1 against the spread, and 22-34-2 on over/unders.
Dallas Mavericks Betting Preview
In their first game in new threads, Dinwiddie and Bertans aided a Dallas win at Miami. Bertans showed especially good signings, hitting 3-of-7 3s on his way to 12 points off the bench.
Dinwiddie was just two for five but had five assists and zero turnovers off the bench. That steady production between them will help Dallas, which looks to ascend from fifth and stay out of the play-in tournament.
Offensively, the team has struggled under Jason Kidd. They are 24th in scoring (106.3 points per game), 19th in field goal percentage (45.3%), and 24th in 3-point percentage (34%). They have gotten it down defensively, boasting the second-best scoring defense (103 per game) and third-best 3-point defense (33.4%).
Dallas is 14-13 away from home, 31-27 against the spread, and 19-38-1 on over/unders.
Betting Prediction
Both teams are better defensively than they are on offense, which means whoever executes on the offensive end, pulls in rebounds, and attacks the paint should win this game. It also seems likely the under could hit, particularly if both struggle offensively. The Mavericks have had five of their last six games go under and are on the third leg of a road trip.
Dallas made a move for depth and has plenty to play for. They are two games behind the Jazz for the fourth seed and six behind Memphis for the three seed with a long way to go, and the climb starts with taking care of the teams they need to.
Prediction: Dallas -3.5
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