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The Dallas Mavericks head to Motown to take on the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
One Final Push
After failing to sustain an early December 2018 surge that saw them go four games above the .500 mark, the Dallas Mavericks are now 23-27 and four and a half games off the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With the season passing by very fast, the Mavs hope to make one final push at the playoffs.
The Mavericks rank 20th in the league in scoring at 109.6 points per game. Dallas is 24th in assists with 22.6 dimes per contest and they are also 11th in rebounding at 45.9 boards per game. The Mavs have the 12th best scoring defense in the entire NBA as they have allowed their opponents to score just 109.6 points per game.
Dallas Mavericks vs Detroit Pistons 1/31/19
Moneyline Odds: Mavericks +120, Pistons -140
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 1/31/19
In The Same Bus
The Detroit Pistons are in the same bus as the Dallas Mavericks. They are looking at the playoff picture from the outside and are looking to climb back to the Top 8. The Pistons currently occupy the 10th spot in the Western Conference and they find themselves trailing 8th seeded Charlotte by a mere 2.5 games.
Detroit is 25th in the entire NBA in team scoring at just 105.9 points per game. They are ranked 26th in assists with 22.2 dimes per contest. The Pistons are 13th in the league in rebounding at 45.4 boards per contest and the have the 9th best scoring defense with 108.7 points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
The Mavericks are 2-5 SU in their last seven games played. Dallas is 2-13 SU in their last 15 road games. The Pistons are 1-4 SU in their last five games played. Detroit is 2-4 SU in their last five games played at home. Head to head, Dallas is 14-6 SU in their last 20 meetings against Detroit. The Mavericks are also 5-2 SU in their last seven games against the Pistons in Detroit.
The same goes for the Detroit Pistons who are elated that Blake Griffin has returned to All-Star form this season. Yet despite Griffin and frontcourt partner Andre Drummond putting up monster numbers, the Pistons have not been able to win games and achieve consistency. Between the two though, I think Dallas has the more talented lineup from top to bottom.
Doncic scored 32 points as Dallas beat Detroit 106-101 in their only previous meeting this season last Friday. I don’t think one week makes a difference in the outcome. As it was last week, I expect Doncic to lead the Mavs again. Sure, the Mavs are just 5-20 on the road this season and the Pistons are 13-12 at home. But the Mavs have played well as of late winning two out of their last three games with their only loss a three-point setback against the Raptors. I’ll take the plus money here and go with the underdogs.
I’m picking the Dallas Mavericks to beat the Detroit Pistons on 1/31/19
Other Bets To Make
Dallas is 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played including 2-1 ATs in three road games during that period. The Pistons are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played. Detroit is 2-2 ATS in their last four games played at their home floor. Head to head, the Pistons are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games played against the Mavericks.
Dallas Mavericks vs Detroit Pistons 1/31/19
Spread Odds: Mavericks +2.5 (-110), Pistons -2.5 (-110)
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 1/31/19
The Mavs are 1-4 ATS in their last five Thursday games, 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games and 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games overall. The Pistons are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games against the Western Conference, 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games playing on one day rest and 1-3-1 ATS in their last five games overall. Dallas just beat this same Pistons team last week and I don’t think a week makes a difference. Dallas is the better team between the two and should cover especially with a free basket.
Prediction: Mavericks +2.5
The total has gone under in six out of the last 10 games played by the Mavericks. The under is 5-1 in the last six road games played by Dallas. The total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Pistons. However, the total has gone over in two out of the last three head to head meetings between these two teams.
Dallas Mavericks vs Detroit Pistons 1/31/19
Over/Under Odds: Over 208.5 -105, Under 208.5 -115
Odds from sportsbetting.ag as of 1/31/19
The under is 5-1 in the last six games of each team. With Dallas having issues with their offense and the Pistons having problems scoring 100 points per game, I don’t think this is even going to top the low 208.5 points total set for this game.
Prediction: Under 208.5
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