Sunday night in the NBA I will have a free pick in the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, which will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The game has a start time of 10:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on NBA TV. Current Vegas betting odds have the Mavericks listed as 5.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 206.
Analysis: The Dallas Mavericks are not playing good ball at the moment as they come in having won just 4 of their last 10 games, which does not give them momentum at all as they head towards the playoffs. For the year Dallas is now 48-31 overall, including 22-17 on the road. The Mavericks are locked in to the 7th seed in the West. Dallas has gone 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400, but just 5-16-1 ATS in their last 22 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. The Mavericks have been a very good offensive team this year, ranking 3rd in scoring (105.1 ppg), 6th in shooting, 13th in 3 point shooting and 17th in FT shooting. Defensively the Mavericks have not been so good this year, ranking 25th in points allowed (102.2 ppg), 16th in defensive FG% and 27th in 3 point defense.
The Los Angeles Lakers have not had a good year at all as they come in with a 21-58 record on the year, with the 58 losses being the most in franchise history. The Lakers come in off an 8 point home win of the Timberwolves and they have now gone just 12-27 at home for the year. The Lakers have gone 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a winning road record, but just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. The Lakers have been a less than average offensive team this year, ranking 18th in scoring (98.4 ppg), 25th in shooting, 16th in 3 point shooting and 23rd in FT shooting. Defensively the Lakers have been very poor this year, ranking 28th in points allowed (104.9 ppg), 29th in defensive FG% and 25th in 3 point defense.
Pick: Going to go with the Over here. The Lakers have not been a good offensive team this year, but they have scored 100+ in their last 3 games and theyr will be taking on a Dallas team that has allowed 117.4 ppg (Regulation) in their last 5 games. Defensively the Lakers have really thrown in the towel of late, as they have allowed 107.3 ppg in their last 8 games and will be facing a Dallas team that has scored 115 ppg (Reg) in their last 5 games. Hard to see this one being played under 110 points.
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