The NBA season continues with games on Monday. The Denver Nuggets will travel to take on the Dallas Mavericks. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Nuggets-Mavericks prediction and pick.
These two teams have had very similar starts to the season. The Denver Nuggets are 18-16 and have managed to win their last three games. While the Dallas Mavericks are 18-18 and have won their last two games. This should be a good game between two teams trying to extend their win streak.
Here are the odds for the Nuggets-Mavericks Monday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Nuggets-Mavericks Odds
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Denver Nuggets: +2.5 (-110)
Dallas Mavericks: -2.5 (-110)
Over: 212.5 (-110)
Under: 212.5 (-110)
Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread
The Denver Nuggets have had a rollercoaster of a season. They have dealt with injuries and COVID and have managed to come out with a winning record. Through their first 34 games this Nuggets team has 18 wins and 16 losses. They are currently on a three game win streak, with their most recent win coming against the Houston Rockets by 13. Denver will look to bring that same energy and carry that momentum into Monday’s match up. The Nuggets are still battling through injuries and COVID, but have already demonstrated their resiliency. If the Nuggets can keep on playing the way they have been, then they should have no problem coming out on top against the Mavericks.
The Nuggets had the edge over the Rockets in nearly every statistic. They dominated down low, scoring 20 more points in the paint than Houston. Denver out rebounded Houston by 10 and fished out 13 more assists. The Rockets were better from beyond the arc, but not good enough to dig into Denver’s lead. The Nuggets have been looking very solid recently and will try and maintain this level of play on Monday night. If the Nuggets can keep on playing consistent, high level basketball, then they will win on Monday. However, even though this team has continued to persist, COVID is still their biggest threat to to success.
The Nuggets have three players currently in the league’s health and safety protocols. On top of that, they have an additional five players who are out with injuries. While this has been the case for most of the season, the Nuggets will still need to persevere. Denver has shown their resiliency, but doing so on a nightly basis is a tough task. If the Nuggets can manage to play their game in Monday and string together another solid all around performance, then the Mavericks will have a tough time keeping up. However, if this team starts getting fatigued and feels the pressure of injuries and COVID then they might come up short.
Why The Mavericks Could Cover The Spread
The Dallas Mavericks have had a whirlwind of a season thus far. Through their first 36 games they are dead even with 18 wins and 18 losses. Dallas has been battling through injuries and COVID all season. Even with all of that, they have managed to win their last two games. The Mavs are coming off a 9 point victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas finally has Luka back and his impact can't be stated enough. Luka and the Maverick's success are very correlated. If Luka has a good game, it usually means the team is doing well. While he has been slow to get back, now that he has returned it is only a matter of time until he takes over.
In their win over the Thunder, the Mavs had the edge across all categories. There was no huge discrepancy that accounted for the victory, rather just a solid all around performance from Dallas. Scoring was hard to come by in that game, as the two teams combined for only 181 points. So if there is one thing for the Mavs to improve it could be that. However, that win was just a solid all around performance from Dallas.
Where this Mavericks team is really struggling is with COVID. The Mavs have four players currently in the league's health and safety protocols. The most recent addition being Kristaps Porzingis. Losing the unicorn for this match up is extremely tough. Porzingis would have provided the Mavs with big man offense to combat Jokic, however now they will really need to try and shut the Denver center down. Taking down this Nuggets team is a big ask from Dallas, but if a few things go their way they could end up on top.
Final Nuggets-Mavericks Prediction & Pick
This is a good match up. Even with all of the COVID factors at play, this game should still be competitive. Both of these teams have won their last few games and are coming into this match up feeling pretty good. The Nuggets have been all over the place this season, but when taking into consideration the impact of COVID they should be your pick. Denver is hot right now, pick them to win and cover.
FINAL NUGGETS-MAVERICKS PICK: Denver Nuggets +2.5 (-110)
FINAL NUGGETS-MAVERICKS SCORE PREDICTION: Nuggets 109 – Mavericks 105
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