NBA: Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Dallas Mavericks lost last night, and they want to erase that against the San Antonio Spurs. The Texas derby is always fun to watch, and it should be no different tonight. San Antonio is struggling, and it seems that Gregg Popovich has a limited talent to work with. Even though this unit has several solid players, none of them are superstars, needed to make a notable result. On the other end, Dallas has arguably the biggest star in the league, Luka Doncic, the frontrunner for the MVP trophy and the guy who should rule the league in the next decade and more.

Preview

Dallas Mavericks (4-3, -110) suffered a loss last night against the Miami Heat at home. The boys from Florida were ruthless in this matchup, posting a 125-110 victory that showed an obvious difference between these two units. In order for the Mavs to become a true championship contender, Jason Kidd will have to upgrade several aspects of their game.

The defense will be No.1 as they allowed the Heat to shoot 51.8% from the field, and 52% from downtown. Overall, the Mavs improved defensively compared to the previous year, but that is not enough in order to make a more significant playoff result.

Luka had 33 points, with five assists and shooting 10-for-24 from the field. The Heat defenders constantly pressured the Slovenian, forcing him to spend too much energy. Jalen Brunson had 25 points missing three of his 13 shots, while Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17, shooting 4-for-13 for three.

San Antonio Spurs (2-5, +100) have only one win in the past five games, and surprisingly that was on the road in Milwaukee against the champions, 102-93. However, after that, they suffered an easy loss in Indiana, 131-118, and are now heading back home following three consecutive away contests.

The Spurs have seven players who average 10 or more points, but none of them are true superstars, or at least players with such potential. That eventually creates problems in clutch moments. Dejuonte Murray is the leader of the team with 17.6 buckets, 8.4 assists, and 7.6 boards.

He had 16 against the Pacers, Derrick White 13, and Jacob Poeltl 11. Overall, the Spurs are a very limited team. Their biggest weapon is the head coach, who knows when to make the right moves and create a difference, but other than that, we don’t see too many qualities.

Head to Head Games

A few days ago, the Spurs visited Dallas and lost the match, 104-99. We saw them having a double-digit lead, then falling down, and then doing the same again. Murray had 23 points with 10 boards and eight assists, and his best help was Bryn Forbes with 14 buckets. On the other side, Luka scored 25, and Brunson added 19.

The Mavs made 18 threes in this event, which was eventually the difference-maker.

Prediction

Despite all the said, we will go with the Spurs, who had more time to rest, and obviously can match Mavs in various areas of play. San Antonio returns home following a tough stretch and is bound to play more relaxed, especially against the tired rivals. The spread on the hosts is +1, and we would take that as the final suggestion here.

Pick: Spurs +1