Texas rivals Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs resume their heated series tonight. Game 1 saw the Mavericks fall short of upsetting the Spurs, primarily due to their inability to bottle up Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. In another game in Texas, the Portland Trail Blazers look to outlast the Houston Rockets in what could be another high-scoring affair.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs (8:00 PM ET)
Line: Dallas Mavericks (+8) at San Antonio Spurs (-8); total 198.0 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Dallas Mavericks
[sc:NBA240banner ]The Dallas Mavericks are looking for a win at San Antonio after losing in Game 1 of their series 90-85. The loss extended the Mavs’ losing spell at AT&T Center to eight games. However, Dallas easily covered their nine-point spread as road underdogs. The team is now 7-1 ATS in their last eight road games.
The Mavericks made a concerted effort to prevent San Antonio from knocking down treys and they were successful, holding the Spurs to a 3-17 (17.6%) shooting from beyond the arc. Dallas should continue staying in front of the Spurs’ shooters, but should not come at the expense of its interior defense. In Game 1, they allowed Tim Duncan and co. to score 56 points in the paint.
Dirk Nowitzki (21.7 PPG in regular season) and Monta Ellis (19.0 PPG) had subpar outings in Game 1, scoring just 11 points apiece. The Mavericks need both players to increase their numbers in order to have a chance against the No.1 Spurs.
Betting on the San Antonio Spurs
Once again, the Spurs’ Big Three delivered for their team in the Playoffs. Duncan scored 27 points, Tony Parker had 21, while Manu Ginobili added 17 off the bench, to help San Antonio defeat the Mavericks at home for the eighth straight time. Moreover, the Spurs are now 17-3 SU in their last 20 home games overall.
The Spurs got away with a win in Game 1 despite getting a relatively meager contribution from its usually explosive bench. The Spurs only got 23 points from its relievers – a big difference from the Spurs’ bench average of 44.8 PPG in the regular season. San Antonio needs more from its bench in Game 2 in order to push back against the rallying Mavs’ whenever starters are resting.
Writer’s Prediction
Expect his reserves to get their numbers back, helping the Spurs win in a more decisive fashion this time. Take the Spurs’ -8 to cover.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets (9:30 PM EST)
Line: Portland Trail Blazers (+6) at Houston Rockets (-6); total: 214.5 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers
LaMarcus Aldridge normally doesn’t score in the 40s but when he’s faced with a lax defense like what the Houston Rockets offered him in Game 1, he definitely would oblige. Aldridge scattered 46 points and Damian Lillard dropped 31 on the Rockets to tow Portland into a 122-120 overtime win on Sunday.
The Blazers are now 5-0 SU and ATS in their last five road games.
Portland made the most of Houston’s lenient defense, Aldridge in particular. The All-Star big man got 16 points from post-up plays and 10 points from jump shots, including two 3-pointers.
If it’s going to be a high scoring (and close) game every meeting, the Blazers could benefit from being a better foul-shooting team. They were the No.1 team in the regular season with an average of 81.5% from the charity stripe, while Houston is deep down at No. 28 (71.2%).
Betting on the Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets learned the hard way that a 13-point lead with 10 minutes left in the game against the Blazers is never safe as they suffered a rare home loss in Game 1 of their series.
Despite their poor defense, the Rockets could have snatched the win in Game 1 if only they did better from the free throw line, as they went just 26-40 (65%) from the foul line. The usual suspect was Dwight Howard, who missed 8 of his 17 attempts. James Harden had 27 points, but had a bad shooting night. He shot 8-28 from the field, including 3-14 from the three-point region.
The Rockets need to do a better job containing Aldridge in Game 2. Aldridge averaged 26.8 PPG in their four meetings in the regular season.
The Rockets are 8-2 over in their last 10 game overall, and are also 8-2 SU in their last 10 home games.
Guard Patrick Beverley hurt his knee in Game 1, but will reportedly suit up for Game 2.
Writer’s Prediction
Both teams should now realized that whichever team plays the best defense will likely win this series. Expect a better showing from both teams on defense, causing the game to go under the line of 214.5.
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