NBA Handicapping Predictions – Mavs vs Warriors
After playing well heading into the All Star break the Mavs have hit the skids, as they have lost 2 straight and 7 of their last 10 games.
Venue/ Stadium: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
Time/Date: 10:30 PM EST Saturday, March 10, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Warriors -3.5
Over/Under: 193
Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors Preview
The Warriors are coming off a loss and are only 4-6 in their last 10 games, but they are a decent home team and they have a solid offense. NBA lines have the Warriors as 3.5-home favorites in this game with a total of 193.
In their last games the Mavs lost to the Sacramento Kings 110-97 and the Warriors lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 110-92.
This season the Mavs are 22-20 ATS with an O/U record of 17-25 and the Warriors are 17-19 ATS with an O/U record of 18-18.
The Mavs win with their defense, which ranks 6th in the league in opponents’ points allowed, but they must play better D than they did against Sacto where they gave up 110 points and they allowed the Kings to shoot over 50% from the floor.
The Mavs have lost 6 straight on the road and in last night’s loss the Mavs committed 17 turnovers and Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, and Jason Kidd all struggled big time. However, Dallas has a good shot to get their offense back on track since the Golden State defense only ranks 26th in the league. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Dallas C Brendan Haywood is questionable for tonight’s game and the Mavs could really use him since the Warriors were dominated in the paint in their loss to the Grizzlies and they have a very weak interior defense.
The Dallas defense has to key on the Golden State backcourt duo of Monta Ellis (22 ppg) and Stephen Curry (15.5 ppg) and if they can keep these guys in check they have a great chance to win.
Without Haywood in the lineup they will also need to step up against David Lee (18.9 ppg 9.8 rpg) and keep him from having a big game in the paint.
The Mavs have won 6 of their last 7 games facing the Warriors, but the only loss was in their last meeting at the end of last season.
In some betting trends for this Western Conference match up the Mavs are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games overall, 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games, and they have an Under record of 7-2 in their last 9 games as an underdog.
The Warriors are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a home favorite of 0.5-4.5, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. loss, and they have an Under record of 16-5 in their last 21 games as a home favorite.
Jason’s Pick: Yeah, the Mavs are struggling, but against the weak Golden State defense I think they will get back on track and win this game and cover.
