The Phoenix Suns meet the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center on January 28, 2020.
The Suns will be playing their third straight game on the road here. Phoenix beat the Spurs in San Antonio last Friday but they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday to fall to 1-1 in their current road trip. The Mavs head home after playing three straight games on the road. Dallas defeated the Blazers in Portland, dropped a game in Utah and were playing the Thunder in OKC on Monday night. The Mavs beat the Suns 120-113 in their first meeting of the season in Phoenix.
A Loss in Memphis
The Phoenix Suns head to Dallas after losing to the Grizzlies in Memphis on Sunday. The Suns rallied from several double-digit leads and came within a solitary point a couple of times down the stretch but they failed to take the lead and lost for the fourth time in seven games.
Devin Booker scored 36 points in the loss to the Grizzlies. Kelly Oubre Jr. also had a big game with 27 points. DeAndre Ayton dominated the middle with 17 points and 15 rebounds but Dario Saric and Ricky Rubio only scored 5 points each for the Suns who have one win in their last four outings.
The Suns rank 11th in scoring at 112.1 points per game and they are 20th in scoring defense at 113.7 points per game allowed. Phoenix is 22nd in rebounding at 43.8 boards grabbed per contest. They are the second-best passing team in the NBA with an average of 27.1 assists per game.
Mavs Return Home
The Dallas Mavericks return home after a three-game road trip. Dallas beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday and then took a five-point loss to the streaking Utah Jazz last Saturday. The Mavs have won five out of their last seven games entering their Monday games against the Thunder in OKC.
Luka Doncic is averaging 29.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game. Kristaps Porzingis is putting up 17.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and a team-best 2.1 blocks per game while Tim Hardaway Jr. is third in scoring at 14.2 points per game this season. Seth Curry is the fourth player in double-digit scoring at 10.8 points per contest.
The Mavs rank 3rd in the NBA in scoring at 116.6 points per game. They are 14th in scoring defense at 109.8 opponent points per game allowed this year. Dallas is the 4th best rebounding team in the league at 47.4 boards grabbed per contest and they are 15th in passing at 24.1 assists per game.
Who Wins?
Phoenix is 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played. The Suns are 3-2 SU in their last five games played on the road, and 7-9 SU in 16 road games against the Western Conference. Entering Monday’s games, Dallas is 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played. The Mavericks are 3-3 SU in their last six games played at home and are 6-7 SU in 13 home games against the West. Head to head, the Suns are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Mavericks.
The Suns are coming off a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies last Sunday. They played without Aron Baynes, Cameron Johnson and Frank Kaminsky in that game. Rubio was just 1-10 from the field as he was bothered by a right ankle injury. The Suns are 10-11 SU on the road this season.
Dallas heads home after concluding a three-game road trip in Oklahoma City on Monday night. The Mavs were 5-2 before the Thunder game and they are just 2-3 SU in their last five games at home. Luka Doncic is dealing with a sore ankle but still played in OKC while Porzingis has played no more than 27 minutes in his last three outings.
The Mavs are playing back to back games here. Porzingis has been playing with minutes restriction since his return from injury but Dallas has a new big in Willie Caulie-Stein. Luka Doncic is playing with ankle soreness and the team is without Dwight Powell. Despite those, I think Dallas wins this one with the Phoenix frontline hurting right now. They lack quality behind Ayton and I think that Porzingis takes advantage of that.
Prediction: Dallas Mavericks
Other Bets to Make
Phoenix is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Mavericks. They are 3-2 ATS in their last five games played on the road, and 10-6 ATS in 16 games against the Western Conference. Entering Monday’s games, Dallas is 4-3-3 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Mavericks are 2-3-1 ATS in their last six games played at home. Head to head, the Suns are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Mavericks.
Suns
+7.5 (-110)
Mavericks
-7.5 (-110)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 01/28/20
The Mavs have outscored the Suns by an average of 9.33 points per game in their last three head to head meetings. They defeated the Suns by seven points in their first meeting of the season. With Ricky Rubio questionable and Aron Baynes out of action, the Phoenix offense is short-handed here, giving the high-scoring Mavs a good chance of covering the spread.
Prediction: Mavs -7.5
The total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Suns. The under is 3-2 in the last five road games played by Phoenix. The total has gone under in four out of the last seven games played by the Mavericks. The over is 13-11 in the 24 home games played by Dallas this season. Head to head, the over is 4-2 in the last six meetings between these two teams.
Over
226.6 (-115)
Under
226.5 (-105)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 01/28/20
These teams have combined to score an average of 210.1 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 220.0 points per game in their most recent three head to head encounters. Phoenix has seen the total go under 228 points in each of their last three games played and in four out of their last six outings overall. However, Dallas is the third highest-scoring team in the league this season and they have gone past 228 in three out of their last five games heading to Monday’s game against the Thunder. These teams combined for 233 points in their first meeting last November 29, 2019. This one should be no different.
Prediction: Over 226.5