The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Saturday and we will see San Antonio Spurs travel to American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas to take on the Dallas Mavericks in game 3 of their best-of seven series. The game has a start time of 4:30 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Vegas odds have the Spurs listed as 3.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 200.5.
Stat Packs: The San Antonio Spurs had the best record in all of the NBA this year and started out their playoff series with the Mavericks by winning a hard fought 90-85 game, but then they made way too many costly mistakes in game 2 and the Mavs walked away with the 21 point win to even the series at 1 game apiece. Now the scene shifts to Dallas and the Spurs have been a solid road team this year going 30-11, while scoring 104.4 ppg and allowing 97.8 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%). Leading the spurs in scoring in the two games thus far is Manu Ginobili, who has scored 22 ppg, while Tim Duncan (19.5 ppg) and Tony Parker (16.0 ppg) have also averged 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%). The Spurs have a 17-14 advantage in playoff games between the two teams, winning a first-round series in the last meeting in 2010.
In game 1 of this series the Dallas mavericks had lost to the Spurs for the 10th time in a row, but ion game two it was a different story altogether as they capitalized on many Spurs mistakes to win the game 113-92 and thus breaking their 10 game losing streak in this series. The Mavericks have been a solid home team this year, going 26-15, 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 Devin Harris that has led the team in scoring thus far with 18.5 ppg, while Monte Ellis (16.0 ppg) Shawn Marion (14.0 ppg) and Dirk Nowitzki (13.0 ppg) also have averaged in double figures for the Mavs. 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%).
Pick: Going with the Spurs in this one. San Antonio played an bad game vs Dallas in game 2 and I fully expect them to bounce back in this one. The Spurs clearly have the better talent and they are 4-0 ATS the last 4 meetings in Dallas, while the Mavericks are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 games off a win of 10 or more. I look for the Spurs to bounce back in a big way today.
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NBA Free Picks: San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks Betting
What pro basketball bettors need to know about San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks on Saturday (4/26/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Ken Thomson with host Marco D'Angelo.