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The Dallas Mavericks take their act to Hollywood as they play the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
No Luka
With rookie sensation Luka Doncic listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury, the Dallas Mavericks sputtered to back to back losses. Overall, the Mavs have lost four in a row and five out of their last six games to fall to 26-33 on the season. Their slim playoff chances have gotten slimmer as they are now six games behind the 8th place in the West, which is coincidentally held by the team they will play next, the Los Angeles Clippers.
With Doncic out, Tim Hardaway Jr. becomes the main man on offense. Hardaway is averaging 16.0 points per game in seven games with Dallas. Hardaway’s former Knicks teammate Trey Burke is averaging 9.3 points per game as well with his new team. Dwight Powell, Dorian Finney Smith and rookie Jalen Brunson are contributing a combined 24 points per game for Dallas.
The Mavs rank 21st in team scoring at 108.6 points per game and they are also 25th in passing with 22.6 assists per game. Dallas is the 12th best rebounding team in the league at 45.4 board grabbed per contest. The Mavericks are ranked 11th in scoring defense with a total of 109.1 opponent points per game allowed.
Mavericks
+200
Clippers
-240
Odds from bet365 as of 2/25/19
Hanging On
While the Mavericks continue to tumble in the team standings, the Los Angeles Clippers are hanging on for dear life. The Clippers traded their top scorer in Tobias Harris at the trade deadline but have managed to stay afloat and keep their playoff chances alive. Los Angeles is just 5-5 SU in its last 10 games and they are currently the 8th seed in the Western Conference.
Lou Williams leads the Clippers’ offense now with Harris gone. Sweet Lou is averaging 19.8 points and 5.4 assists per game. Forward Danilo Gallinari is also scoring 18.8 points while grabbing 6.0 rebounds per game. Montrezl Harrell is the surprise of the season with 16.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is contributing 10.0 points, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
The Clippers are the 7th best scoring team in the league at 114.2 points per game. Los Angeles is ranked 22nd in assists with 23.3 dimes per contest while they are 15th off the glass with 45.2 rebounds per game. Los Angeles has the 7th worst scoring defense in the league at 113.7 points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
The Mavericks are 4-6 SU in their last 10 games and Dallas is 2-3 SU in its last five games played. The Clippers are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played and Los Angeles is 1-2 SU in their last three home games played. Head to head, these teams have split their last 10 meetings at 5-5 SU.
Dallas’ slim playoff chance is slowly vanishing in thin air as the team is on a slump right now. As of this writing, there is no word yet on whether Doncic will suit up for this game but with the postseason slipping away, the Mavs may opt to side with caution here. This team gave up too many weapons at the trade deadline and now find themselves undermanned with Doncic out. Nowitzki made his first start of the season in their last game and Dirk responded with 15 points. Without Doncic though, this team is like a car without a driver.
The Clippers traded their top scorer at the deadline but have managed to remain in playoff contention thanks to a balanced team which has plenty of offensive options outside Harris. Lou Williams and Danilo Gallinari have done a great job in leading the team. They have split their last 10 games to hold on to the 8th spot.
While Dallas isn’t mathematically out of the equation yet, I think they are out of the playoffs already. On the other hand, the Clippers are in the thick of the fight and the reason I’m mentioning these is because they could play a huge part in the motives of both squads moving forward. I like the Clippers to play harder because of their playoff chances. L.A. though is coming off a Sunday loss in Denver but while they are playing back to back games, this one’s at home where they are 16-12 SU. Dallas has won a total of six road games so far so I’m going with the home team here.
I’m picking the Los Angeles Clippers to beat the Dallas Mavericks on 2/25/19.
Other Bets To Make
Dallas is 5-5 ATS in its last 10 games and the Mavericks are 3-2 ATS in their last five road games. Los Angeles is also 5-5 in its last 10 games played and the Clippers are 1-2 ATS in their last three home games. Head to head, the Mavericks are 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 games versus the Clippers.
Mavericks
+5.5 (-110)
Clippers
-5.5 (-110)
Odds from bet365 as of 2/25/19
Dallas is 6-2 ATS in its last eight games when playing on one day rest and 0-4 ATS in its last four games overall. Los Angeles is 2-6 ATS in their last eight home games and 0-5 ATS in their last five Monday games. The Mavs are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the Clippers but the latter is 5-2-1 in their last eight meetings in Los Angeles. The Clippers still have more firepower left than what Dallas has after the trade deadline. With Doncic questionable here, I’ll go with the home team.
Prediction: Clippers
The under is 6-3-1 in Dallas’ last 10 games played and the under is 3-1-1 in the Mavericks’ last five road games. The total has gone over in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Clippers. The over is 3-0 in Los Angeles’ last three home games played. Head to head, the under is 5-4-1 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
Mavericks
O 223.5 (-110)
Clippers
U 223.5 (-110)
Odds from bet365 as of 2/25/19
The total has gone over in six out of the last 10 games of Dallas against Western conference teams. The over is 6-4 in the last 10 games between these teams at Staples Center. The over is 7-3 in the Clippers last 10 second games of a back to back. The over is 7-2-1 in the Clippers’ last 10 games against Western Conference teams. The Mavs play bad on the road and the Clippers dictate the pace of this game. Los Angeles is a Top 10 team in offense and and a bottom 10 team in defense so I expect a high scoring game here.
Prediction: Over
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