The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Monday and we will see San Antonio Spurs travel to American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas to take on the Dallas Mavericks in game 4 of their best-of seven series. The game has a start time of 9:35 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Vegas odds have the Spurs listed as 4 point favorites, while the total sits at 201.5.
Stat Packs: The San Antonio Spurs had the best record in all of the NBA this year, but they come in having lost 2 in a row to the Mavericks to fall behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. The Spurs a solid road team this year going 30-12, while scoring 104.5 ppg and allowing 98.1 ppg in the process. The Spurs were a solid offensive team overall this year, as they ranked 6th in scoring (105.4 ppg), 2nd in FG% (48.6%) and 1st in 3pt shooting (39.7%), but vs the Mavs in this series they have been able to score just 96.7 ppg on 49.% shooting. Leading the Spurs in scoring in the playoffs is Tim Duncan, who has averaged 20 ppg, while Manu Ginobili (18.7 ppg), Tony Parker (17.3 ppg) and Kawhi Leonard (11.3 ppg) have also averaged in double figures for the Spurs. Defensively was a solid team this year, ranking 6th in points allowed (97.6 ppg) and 8th in defensive FG% defense (44.4%), but vs Dallas they have allowed 102.3 ppg on 47.1% shooting.
The Dallas Mavericks came into the series as the 8th seed in the West and had lost 9 in a row to the Spurs overall, but now they have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, after taking the last 2 vs the Spurs. The Mavericks have been a solid home team this year, going 27-15, while scoring 107.2 ppg and allowing 103.7 ppg in the process. Overall this year Dallas was ranked 8th in scoring (104.8 ppg), 4th in shooting (47.4%), 2nd in 3pt shooting (38.4%) and 3rd in FT shooting (79.5%). During the playoffs it has been Monta Ellis that has led the team in scoring at 20.3 ppg. Dirk Nowitzki (15.3 ppg), Devin Harris (13.3 ppg) and Shaun Marion (11.3 ppg) round out the top 4 scorers on the team. Defensively, this wasn’t a great team this year, as they ranked 20th in points allowed (102.4 ppg) and 23nd in defensive FG% (46.4%), but they have allowed just 96.3 ppg in this series.
Pick: Going with the Spurs in this one. San Antonio is by far the better team here and you can expect their best performance of the playoffs as they look to avoid falling behind 3 games to 1. The Spurs have the best coach in the league and I see him making all the right adjustments to make sure his team wins this one. The Spurs had won 10 in a row vs the Mavs before the last 2 games and I expect them to start a new streak by taking this one by at least 7 or 8 points.
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NBA Playoff Update #1
Steve Fezzik, from Pregame.com, give his thoughts on how the NBA playoffs have gone so far and what to look for in the future.