Thursday NBA on TNT Betting Preview DALLAS MAVERICKS (36-19) at OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (28-25)
The Mavericks are coming off of an 87-82 victory as five-point favorites versus the Jazz on Feb. 11. Dallas won three of its four games heading into the break, but struggled offensively in its past two. The Mavericks averaged just 92.5 PPG in their two games before All-Star weekend and will need to start scoring more points, especially against Oklahoma City. The Thunder has won three straight games and the team has scored 100+ points in six straight contests. Oklahoma City is averaging 120.0 PPG over the past three contests.
Sportsbook.ag Line: OKC -5, Total: 212
However, Dallas has dominated this series as of late with three straight SU and ATS wins against the Thunder, including a 112-107 victory as two-point home favorites on Dec. 28, 2014. They also won-and-covered the last time they went to Oklahoma City, which snapped an eight-game SU losing streak at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Dallas has played well on the road this season, going 19-10 SU and 16-12-1 ATS away from home. The Mavericks are just 4-8 SU and 5-7 ATS as an underdog this season. Oklahoma City is 0-3 SU and ATS when playing on three or more days rest this season. C Tyson Chandler (Ankle) is questionable for the Mavericks, who are already without PG Rajon Rondo (Facial) indefinitely. C Steven Adams (Hand) is out indefinitely for Oklahoma City.
The Mavericks have had one of the best offenses in basketball this season, scoring 106.3 PPG (3rd in NBA) thanks to 23.0 APG (8th in NBA). However, the team has struggled to score recently and that could have something to do with the loss of PG Rajon Rondo (8.7 PPG, 8.7 APG, 6.3 RPG, 1.6 SPG). Dallas is missing its playmaker, but luckily PG J.J. Barea (7.7 PPG, 3.4 APG) has given the team a solid presence at the point guard position. Barea lit up the Jazz in the last game this team played before the break, scoring 22 points with four rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes. He’ll need to keep scoring for this team because it is missing the passing ability of Rondo.
SG Monta Ellis (19.8 PPG, 4.5 APG, 1.9 SPG) really struggled against Utah, finishing with just seven points (1-for-6 FG) in 37 minutes. He did have three assists and six steals in that game. He has been dealing with a sore hip and the All-Star break should give him time to get that healed. Ellis scored 18 points with five assists and four rebounds in a meeting with the Thunder earlier in the year.
PF Dirk Nowitzki (18.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG) had 15 points and 14 rebounds against Utah and got to play in the All-Star game due to an injury to Anthony Davis. Nowitzki had 30 points against the Thunder earlier in the year and should be able to use his shooting ability to stretch out the defense and take PF Serge Ibaka (13.8 PPG , 7.5 RPG, 2.3 BPG) away from the basket.
SF Chandler Parsons (15.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.0 SPG) caught fire the last time these teams met. He had 26 points in 35 minutes of action and will need to do a solid job defensively on SF Kevin Durant (25.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.0 APG).
C Bernard James had nine points, three rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes of action against the Jazz. He did a solid job filling in for the injured C Tyson Chandler (10.7 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.3 BPG) and will need to do more of the same if Chandler can’t go in this one.
Oklahoma City has been playing a lot better as of late and a lot of that has to do with SF Kevin Durant returning to form. Over the past four games, Durant is averaging 30.5 PPG. He was not on the court when the Thunder faced the Mavericks earlier in the season and he should be able to do a better job of defending Chandler Parsons than his teammates did. He’ll also give this team a go-to-guy on offense and will carry the momentum of playing in the All-Star game into this one.
Another guy who should carry that swagger into Thursday’s game is PG Russell Westbrook (25.8 PPG, 7.6 APG, 6.3 RPG, 2.2 SPG), who had 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in a win over Memphis before the break. The guard was named the All-Star MVP after putting up 41 points in the affair, just one shy of tying Wilt Chamberlain’s record. Westbrook will have a mismatch going up against whoever guards him for Dallas, and this could be a huge game for the Thunder guard. He had just 18 points against the Mavericks earlier in the year, but he did have nine assists and nine rebounds.
PF Serge Ibaka had 26 points and 10 rebounds the last time these teams played, but it will be his defense that is needed in this game. Dirk Nowitzki lit up Oklahoma City in the last meeting between these teams and Ibaka can’t afford to let that happen again.
PF Mitch McGary (7.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG) could see some extended minutes with C Steven Adams (7.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.2 BPG) out with a broken hand. McGary fouled out and didn’t score a point in 15 minutes against the Grizzlies before the break. He’ll need to stay disciplined on the defensive end in this one because he gives this team some added rim protection when he is on the floor.
