The Portland Trail Blazers picked up the first win Friday night in the two-game set against the Dallas Mavericks as the team looks to sweep the regular-season matchup against the Mavericks. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Mavericks-Blazers prediction and pick.
The Mavericks fell to a record of 21-19 after a tough loss to the Blazers Friday night in the first game of the two-game set between the teams.
The Blazers are currently sitting 6th in the western conference with a record of 25-16. The team has won seven of their last ten games and is looking to extend their current winning streak to four against the Mavericks.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Mavericks-Blazers odds.
NBA Odds: Mavericks-Blazers Odds
Dallas Mavericks -2 (-106)
Portland Trail Blazers +2 (-114)
Over 228 Points (-115)
Under 228 Points(-105)
Why The Mavericks Could Cover The Spread
The Mavericks lead the Blazers heading into the 4th quarter Friday night but were not able to string enough defensive stops and good offensive possessions in the quarter to pull out the win.
To no one's surprise, Luka Doncic was again fantastic for the Mavericks putting up 38 points along with nine assists and nine rebounds. However, the Mavericks second star in Kristaps Porzingis struggled offensively Friday night, shooting just 3-11 and contributing 11 points in 34 minutes of action.
We saw this in the first matchup between these two teams as well where Luka Doncic simply had a dominant performance dropping 44 points and Kristaps Porzingis adding just 18 points in a three-point loss to the Blazers.
In addition to a better performance from Porzingis, the Blazers are a solid team and the Mavericks will need key role players, like Josh Richardson, Maxi Kleber, and Tim Hardaway Jr., to step up on the offensive end.
It's evident from the first two games that a dominant performance from Luka Doncic is not enough to defeat a healthy and very good Blazers team. The Mavericks can only cover the spread if the rest of the Mavericks team aside from Luka Doncic decides to show up on both ends of the floor. That means we will need to see a massive game from Porzingis and some of the key role players mentioned above.
Why The Blazers Could Cover The Spread
The Blazers are almost at full strength with C.J. McCollum now back and have won all three games since his return.
McCollum is critical to the success of the team and it showed Friday night against the Mavericks when they came back from a 5-point deficit in the 4th quarter to win the game.
The dynamic backcourt of Damian Lillard and McCollum for the Blazers combined for 63 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds while shooting an efficient 10 of 19 and 11 of 23 from the field, respectively.
The Blazers also saw contributions from key players for the team, like Carmelo Anthony, Robert Covington, and Enes Kanter, who all scored in the double digits for the team.
If Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum can again anchor the offense for the Blazers by creating their own shots and finding key players on the team open, the Blazers will have a really great opportunity to cover the spread and sweep the regular-season matchup against the Mavericks.
Final Mavericks-Blazers Prediction & Pick
It'll be a close game again but given the current momentum of the Portland Trail Blazers and the return of a healthy C.J. McCollum, the Blazers should cover the spread. The Blazers seem to get more consistent contributions from both their stars and key role players, like Carmelo Anthony or Robert Covington. Barring a huge game from Luka Doncic and Kirstaps Porzingis, the Blazers should cover the spread if they play with the same energy they did Friday night against the Mavericks.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION & PICK FOR MAVERICKS-BLAZERS: MAV 118, POR 122 (POR +2)
Follow Us
Subscribe