The Dallas Mavericks host the Toronto Raptors in an interconference battle! It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Raptors-Mavericks prediction and pick.
The Raptors are coming off a dominant win over the San Antonio Spurs 143-100. A 40-point win in the NBA is extremely hard to accomplish and they did it on the road. Seven players scored in double-figures and that was too much for the Spurs to handle. Toronto is now (5-3) which places them in third in the Eastern Conference.
The Mavericks are coming off two-straight wins where they beat the Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz. Luka Doncic is the talk of the league right now and he is doing his best to keep the Mavs in the win column. Dallas is (4-3) on the year which puts them 8th in the West. They look to keep their winning streak intact against a tough opponent.
Here are the Raptors-Mavericks NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Raptors-Mavericks Odds
Toronto Raptors: +3 (-108)
Dallas Mavericks: -3 (-112)
Over: 216 (-110)
Under: 216 (-110)
Why The Raptors Could Cover The Spread
The Raptors have been sneaky good and they don't utilize much size. Gary Trent Jr., Fred VanVleet, and Scottie Barnes do a great job of spreading the floor. That allows Pascal Siakam to thrive as the main guy on the team. Siakam is tearing it up this season averaging 25.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists on the season. Trent Jr. is averaging 20 per game and Barnes is third at 15.4. They have six players totaling double-digits in scoring which makes it tough for opposing defenses.
The biggest key in this game will be to contain Luka as much as possible. He leads the NBA in scoring at 36 per game and has proven to score on any type of defender, even the 7-footers. The Mavs are also 9th in the NBA in scoring at 115 per game so one thing is for sure, there will be a lot of offense in this one. The better the Raptors do at stopping Luka the better the chances of them covering this spread.
Why The Mavericks Could Cover The Spread
Doncic is coming off of another huge game where he scored 33 off of 12-20 shooting. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 and Christian Wood scored 21 off of the bench. That trio is working very well together but it's unclear why Wood is coming off of the bench. Maybe head coach Jason Kidd likes starting Javale McGee and playing him only eight minutes. Either way, the Mavs defend very well and are 7th in opposing scoring at 109 per game. They were among one of the top teams last season and continue to not allow teams to have a successful offensive night.
League-wide however, the scoring has been higher this season. The Mavs are 9th and are letting Luka do whatever he wants on the court. Not only can he score, but he can also pass the ball like his former head coach could do. He also rebounds and defends at a high level. We all knew this it seems that he has even taken this to a new level this year. He is FanDuel's favorite to win the MVP this year and there might not be a single team that can stop him. Dallas is at home here and Luka could potentially score 30+ once again.
Final Raptors-Mavericks Prediction & Pick
Both teams are playing really well and I expect it to be a close game. Take the Raptors to cover as well as the over in what should be a high-scoring affair.
Final Raptors-Mavericks Prediction & Pick: Raptors +3 (-108); Over 216 (-110)
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