Wednesday night in the NBA I will have a free pick in the game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Dallas Mavericks, which will take place at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised locally. Current Vegas betting odds have Dallas listed as 7 point favorites, while the total is set at 208.
Analysis: The Portland Trailblazers have had a nice year as they are 51-30 and have won the won the Northwest Division. Portland has lost their last 3 games in a row and they are locked into the 4th spot in the West. Portland has gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs the Southwest Division, but just 7-15 ATS in their last 22 games following a S.U. loss. The Trailblazers have been a decent offensive team this year, ranking 9th in scoring (102.9 ppg), 16th in shooting, 8th in 3 point shooting and 1st in FT shooting. Defensively the Trailblazers have been decent this year, ranking 11th in points allowed (98.4 ppg), 6th in defensive FG% and 6th in 3 point defense.
The Dallas Mavericks are not playing good ball at the moment as they come in having won just 5 of their last 12 games, which does not give them momentum at all as they head towards the playoffs. For the year Dallas is now 49-32 overall, including 26-14 at home. The Mavericks are locked into the 7th seed in the West. Dallas has gone 7-3 ATS the last 10 in the series, but just 10-25 ATS in their last 35 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. 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 18th in FT shooting. Defensively the Mavericks have not been so good this year, ranking 25th in points allowed (102.4 ppg), 17th in defensive FG% and 27th in 3 point defense.
Pick: Both teams can light up the score board and I see that happening here. The Mavs come in averaging 112.4 ppg in their last 7 games, while allowing 114.7 ppg over the same span. That is regulation only. Portland has averaged 102.4 ppg in their last 5 games, while their defense has struggled, giving up 109.3 ppg in their last 3 games. The Over is 6-1 the last 7 between these teams played here and I see that trend continuing in this one.
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