The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Wednesday night and we will see Dallas Mavericks travel to the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas to take on the San Antonio Spurs in game 5 of their best-of seven series. The game has a start time of 7:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Vegas odds have the Spurs listed as 6.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 197.5.
Stat Packs: 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 they come into this pivotal game 5 with the series tied at 2 games apiece. The Mavericks are a decent 24-19 on the road this year and they have gone 4-1 ATS in their last 4 trips to San Antonio. During the regular season Dallas was ranked 8th in scoring (104.8 ppg) and 4th in shooting (47.4%), but vs the Spurs so far they have been able to score just 99 9pg and shoot just 44.9% from the floor. During the playoffs it has been Monta Ellis that has led them in scoring, putting up 20.3 ppg, while Dirk Nowitzki (16.0 ppg), Jose Calderon (12.0 ppg) and Devin Harris (11.0 ppg) round out the top 4 scorers on the team. Samuel Dalambert has been solid on the boards, with 10 rpg. Defensively, this wasn’t a great team this year, as they ranked 20th in points allowed (102.4 ppg), but they have been a bit better in the playoffs allowing a high powered Spurs team just 95.8 ppg so far.
The San Antonio Spurs had the best record in all of the NBA this year, but they come into this game 5 tied with the Mavericks at 2 games apiece. The Spurs have gone 33-10 SU at home this year, but the host in this series has gone 3-8 ATS the last 11 games in the series. The Spurs were a solid offensive team overall this year, as they ranked 6th in scoring (105.4 ppg), but vs the Mavs in this series they have been able to score just 95.8. Leading the Spurs in scoring in the playoffs is Manu Ginobili , who has averaged 19.8 ppg so far,, while Tim Duncan (18.5 ppg), Tony Parker (15.5 ppg) and Kawhi Leonard (10.3 ppg) have also averaged in double figures for the Spurs. Defensively this was a solid team this year, ranking 6th in points allowed (97.6 ppg) and 8th in defensive FG% defense (44.4%), and vs Dallas they have allowed 99.0 ppg on 44.9% shooting.
Pick: I will take the Under in this one. Game 5's in the playoffs have been some what lower scoring than the rest of the games and I see that continuing here as well. Heck, this series has been rather low scoring anyway, as the teams have combined to average just 194.8 ppg. The Mavericks had their defensive problems throughout the year, but in this series they have allowed just 96.3 ppg, while holding the Spurs to 93 points or less in 3 of the 4 games. The Spurs have had a few problems on defense in this series, but still this is a team that allowed just 97.6 ppg (6th) on the year, including just 97.5 ppg at home. The series is tied at 2 games apiece and that usually means a slower paced more deliberate game with lots of defensive intensity. Look for a game right around 190.
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NBA Free Picks: Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs Betting
What pro basketball bettors need to know about Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday (4/30/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Steve Fezzik.