Jazz vs Mavs NBA Handicapping
Left for dead in a gully by the side of Interstate 20 in Dallas, the Mavericks somehow have managed to play their way back into the Western Conference playoff conversation.
Utah Jazz (34-35) at Dallas Mavericks (33-36)
Sunday, March 24
American Airlines Center, Dallas 8 p.m. EST
Spread – Mavericks -6 from JustBet
Total – 200.5
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Lots of help is needed for the Mavs to make it back into the top 8 in the Western Conference. The Lakers, for one, have to stumble a bit down the stretch. And the Trail Blazers can’t turn recent history on its head and get hot.
And the Mavs have to break free from a current logjam that includes themselves, Portland and Utah.
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But it can be done, and it starts tonight at home. It would be a stretch to call tonight’s matchup against the Jazz a must-win, but each and every one of Dallas’s final 13 games is important.
The Mavs will probably need to go 10-3 or 9-4 down the stretch to have a legit chance at leaving the Jazz and Blazers in their dust and overtaking the Lakers, and a loss tonight would make the climb that much steeper.
Dallas has recent losses to the conference iron (Oklahoma City and San Antonio), but it was a defeat at home to Brooklyn in which the Nets dominated the middle periods (63-45) that galls.
The Mavs responded by taking apart the Celtics two nights later, though, and after tonight face a nasty stretch of tough games (Clippers, Indiana and Chicago at home, Lakers and Denver on the road) that will go a long way toward determining whether Dallas will get a bite of the post-season apple or have to schlepp to the Draft Lottery.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle knew that this would be a difficult season when he found out that a good portion of it would take place without injured Dirk Nowitzki. With Nowitski now back, the Mavs have been able to get the job done with a balanced scoring attack. [ad-6571516]
DK and O.J. Mayo are both at 16.6 points a game, and the Mavs’ 6th-ranked offense has four other players in double figures.
Balance might not serve the team too well when rotations and minutes are tightened during the playoffs, but for now the Mavs (36 losses) are back in the playoff mix and playing well enough to keep pressure on the Lakers (34 losses) over the final 24 days of the regular season.
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Unlike Dallas, the Jazz appear to be getting their affairs in order for an early exit to the season. Seven of their last 10 have been on the road, and Utah lost all seven.
The Jazz earn some props for taking the Spurs into overtime on Friday night, but style points don’t mean anything and that game might have been a dagger in the heart. Liking Dallas to cover the 6 tonight and keep playoff hopes alive for a while longer.
