Who's ready to kick off the weekend with some Friday night NBA action? Without further ado, the Dallas Mavericks take on the Portland Trail Blazers up in the Pacific Northwest. It is time to check out our NBA odds series where our Mavericks-Trail Blazers prediction and pick will be revealed.
For Dallas, it was the Mavericks that were able to put their two-game slide in the rearview mirror by absolutely annihilating the Utah Jazz by a score of 147-97. Overall, the Mavs are 12-8 which is good enough to put them in fifth place within the entire Western Conference.
Without a doubt, the Trail Blazers are in a full-blown rebuild as their record is a direct reflection of that fact. At 6-14, Portland is fresh off of a narrow loss to the Golden State Warriors on the road and have dropped two consecutive games. Can the Trail Blazers feel rejuvenated in returning home to their fans and do just enough to overwhelm the Mavericks out on the hardwood?
Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Mavericks-Trail Blazers Odds
Dallas Mavericks: -8.5 (-114)
Portland Trail Blazers: +8.5 (-106)
Over: 232 (-108)
Under: 232 (-112)
How to Watch Mavericks vs. Trail Blazers
Time: 10:00 ET/7:00 PT
TV: Bally Sports Southwest
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Mavericks Could Cover The Spread
Once again, the special and dynamic play of superstar guard Luka Doncic continues to raise eyebrows in impressive fashion. One of the more skilled offensive playmakers of his generation, Doncic will yet again be the best player on the floor when the Mavericks clash with the Trail Blazers on this Friday night.
In the beatdown against the Jazz, it was Doncic who might've put forth the best first-half performance of his entire career with a remarkable 29-point triple-double outing before half-time. Not only did this most recent, historic performance see Doncic pass the legendary Larry Bird in all-time triple-doubles, but it once again saw the 24-year-old Slovenian make his way right back into the running of the early-season MVP race. Altogether, Luka is averaging a whopping 31.8 points and also ranks fifth in the league in terms of 8.6 assists per game. Simply put, there is no one on the Portland roster that will be able to handle the offensive expertise that Doncic possesses and Luka should no doubt have his way versus a Trail Blazers defense that is prone in giving up easy buckets.
Not to mention, but if Dallas can take care of the basketball and shoot lights out from beyond the arc at a consistent rate like they did last time out, then Portland's night could be over before it ever begins. Against Utah, it was Dallas that only turned the ball over eight times while shooting 44% from deep. On paper, the ‘Mavs make 16.1 triples for every 100 possessions which is by far the best mark in the NBA. Truly, Dallas lives and dies by the three.
Why The Trail Blazers Could Cover The Spread
Entering 2023-2024 without any lofty expectations after dealing superstar Damian Lillard to Milwaukee, Portland is still eager that they can show some promise on both ends of the floor.
With a dead-even 10-10 record against the spread, the Trail Blazers' ability to cover the spread is literally like flipping a coin at this point. Luckily, their overall defensive rating does have some upside as Portland will need to bring their A-game on the defensive end of the floor going up against a high-octane offense like the one the Mavs possess. The most interesting part of this matchup will happen to fall on the shoulders of the Blazers' elite three-point defense going up against a rock-steady shooting Mavericks squad. At first glance, Portland is allowing only 10.5 triples per 100 possessions and are forcing opposing teams to shoot a lowly 32% clip from trey land. All in all, if this game comes down to Portland's ability to defend the three-point line, then don't plan on counting them out in any regard.
Most importantly, someone on this roster is going to have to step up in a big way to keep up with Dallas and their high-scoring ways. With that being said, one scalding hot name that could answer the bell and fill up the stat sheet in the scoring department will be Shaedon Sharpe. With the expected absences of Jeramy Grant and Deandre Ayton in this one due to injuries, Sharpe may be the next man up to carry the load offensively. Overall, Sharpe is coming off a 26-point outing in the loss to the Warriors as he also corralled six rebounds and dished out five assists.
Final Mavericks-Trail Blazers Prediction & Pick
With too many big names on the Portland side of things that are listed as out for tonight's competition, it is hard to imagine that Dallas doesn't come away with a spread-covering victory on the road to kick off the weekend.
Final Mavericks-Trail Blazers Prediction & Pick: Mavericks -8.5 (-114)
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