NBA: Memphis Grizzlies vs. Dallas Mavericks Preview, Odds, Prediction

It’s Ja Morant against Luka Doncic tonight when the Memphis Grizzlies clash with the Dallas Mavericks. Since losing to this opponent and snapping an 11-game winning streak, the Grizzlies are trying to get back on track and keep up with the positive results. On the other side, the Mavs are looking good, despite their latest loss to the Phoenix Suns. Luka is doing his thing, but the other players are helping the young star much more than before. This should be a fun game for watching because these teams like to play attractive basketball, and also because they have two future megastars.

Preview

Memphis Grizzlies (32-16, +125) will lack two very important players, Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane. These guys are practically Morant’s first replacements on the offensive side of the ball and usually the x-factors in Memphis’ play. Morant creates space for these two guys, who then exploit it.

Taylor Jenkins’ crew is 8-2 over the last 10 events. The previous two were on the road, a loss in Milwaukee against the Bucks, 126-114, and a victory over the Denver Nuggets at Mile High, 122-118.

Memphis sot 52.4% from the field, and had 48 boards, eleven more than the rivals. Ja was fantastic with 38 buckets and six boards, and assists. De’Anthony Melton had 21 points and nine boards, while Jaren Jackson Jr scored 20. Ziaire Williams contributed 17, 6-for-8 from the field.

Dallas Mavericks (26-20, -150) are 3.5-point favorites in this event. After four wins in a row, they lost to the suns at home, 109-101. The guests from Arizona rolled over the Mavs in the final period, outscoring them 35-19, to flip the result and post a victory. In those moments, it was obvious that the Mavs lacked a few tougher players for tight endings who could physically compete on the defensive side of the ball.

Luka had 28 points, but his shooting percentage wasn’t great, 9-for-23. He hit only two of his nine threes, while securing eight boards and assists. Jalen Brunson played a solid game as usual, with 19 points, while Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 buckets and had 11 boards in 32 minutes of play. However, there weren’t any other notable contributors on the offensive side. Tim Hardaway Jr ended the game with 11 points, and that was it.

Head to Head Games

Tonight’s contest will be the fourth between these two sides in the 2021/22 campaign. For the moment, the Mavs have a 2-1 lead in the series. Early in December, the two teams met in Dallas, and the Grizzlies took the win, 97-90. After that, we saw the Mavs triumphing in Memphis twice in a row, 104-96 and 112-85.

Prediction

As you can see, the Grizzlies and the Mavs’ direct meetings aren’t as efficient as many would think. Even though these crews usually play a bit faster than other teams (especially the Grizzlies), their head-to-head contests usually go under the proposed limit (216) for tonight’s clash. Our suggestion here is to bet on under, because of this, and the fact that Memphis won’t have its two very important backcourt players, Bane and Brooks. The odds on this suggestion are -110, and they are worth trying.

Pick: Under 216 points -110