Subscribe
Follow Us
The Dallas Mavericks host the Houston Rockets for a divisional battle! It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Rockets-Mavericks prediction and pick.
We have a Texas battle on our hands for Thursday night! The Rockets are in Dallas to face their divisional rivals following Luka Doncic's massive performance. The Rockets are (10-24) and are trending in the wrong direction. There are a ton of teams tanking this season (for obvious reasons) and the Rockets are clearly one of them. They are coming off a 24-point loss to the Boston Celtics.
The Mavs are coming off a huge comeback win over the New York Knicks Tuesday night. It was more Luka Magic as he hit that wild shot to force overtime which led to a 126-121 win. Luka ended with 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists in what could be the best stat line you will see in a very long time … until Luka one-ups it. Dallas improved to (19-16) on the season which has them 7th in the West.
Here are the Rockets-Mavericks NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Rockets-Mavericks Odds
Houston Rockets: +10 (-110)
Dallas Mavericks: -10 (-110)
Over: 226 (-110)
Under: 226 (-110)
Article Continues Below
Why The Rockets Could Cover The Spread
The Rockets lost big to the Celtics but there were some positive signs despite the outcome. Jalen Green scored 28 points off of 11-22 shooting. Eight of his 11 misses were from deep so it comes to show that if the young guard drives to the basket, he can see a lot of success. Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 with nine assists and Kenyon Martin Jr. scored 17 off of 6-10 shooting. The offense hasn't been the problem it's their efforts on the defensive end that is the reason why they aren't winning.
The Rockets are 21st in opponent points per game allowing 115.7 points. Just last week, they allowed 112 from the Mavs as they fell 112-106 in Houston. Luke had another huge game against them scoring 50 points so if the Rockets want any chance of staying close and covering this spread then they must find a way to contain Doncic. That might be an impossible task but if they can keep him under 30 then that is a win in itself.
Why The Mavericks Could Cover The Spread
A 10-point spread is doable for the Mavs if they stay hot from Tuesday night. Luka balled out but so did Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood. Those three combined for 104 of the 126 points scored. In fact, only five other players scored in the game. Wood and Dinwiddie are huge for this squad. They can score the rock and are mismatches at their respective positions. As long as they are on their game then there really isn't anything defenses can do.
Somehow, Luka isn't the NBA's leading scorer. He averages 33.6 points per game but Joel Embiid is slightly higher at 33.7 per game. The race for the scoring title will be a good one as these two try and outplay each other every other night it seems. There should be no reason why he doesn't continue on with another strong outing. With how hot Luka is playing, he should be able to lead the Mavs to a spread-covering win.
Final Rockets-Mavericks Prediction & Pick
The Mavericks and the over at 226 are the calls to make in this contest. There should be a lot of baskets scored.
Final Rockets-Mavericks Prediction & Pick: Mavericks -10 (-110); Over 226 (-110)
