Dončić Looks To Lead Dallas To Victory Over The Floundering Knicks | OSB
Dončić Looks To Lead Dallas To Victory Over The Floundering Knicks
By Sam Batz
Tomorrow night, the New York Knicks (www.nba.com/knicks) take on the Dallas Mavericks (www.mavs.com) in an East vs West matchup. The Mavs are the 8 seed in the West with a 18-16 record. The Knicks are also 18-16 but are the 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. New York and Dallas have played just once this season and Dallas took home the win, beating New York 121-100. The Knicks will look to bounce back after dropping three-straight games, while the Mavericks will try to increase their current winning-streak to four games.
The game will be in Dallas, where the Mavericks are 13-5 on the season. Typically, the home-court advantage would give Dallas the edge, but the Knicks travel very well. New York has the second best away record in the league at 10-6, and will be out for revenge against the Mavericks after getting blown out by 21 points the first time they played. However, the Luka led Mavericks will fervently defend their home stadium in order to stay relevant in a highly competitive Western Conference.
From a statistical stand-point, the Mavericks and Knicks are extremely well matched. They compare evenly in field-goal percentage, free-throws, three-pointers, rebounds, assists, turnovers, steals, blocks, and fouls. It will be a close game between two teams in the process of proving they are championship worthy. This matchup is truly a toss-up. Sportsbooks have yet to publish the spread of favorite/underdog predictions, but I anticipate the Mavericks will be favored by -1.5 to -3 points. Regardless of the spread, it will be a close game worth tuning into.
In a straight-up moneyline wager, I would take the Mavericks because of their superstar, 6’7” point guard, Luca Dončić. Dončić is having an MVP caliber season, averaging 32.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists per game. He is the Mavericks primary weapon, leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. He has played 31 of 34 games, and Dallas has lost every time he is on the court. Dallas is 15-6 when Luca scores more than 30 points and will need him at his best tomorrow night against a staunch New York defense.
After an impressive 8 game winning-streak, the Knicks have lost their last three contests, all to Eastern Conference teams. They play the Mavericks, who are 5-10 against the East this season. The Knicks are 6-7 against the West and will look to star players Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Jalen Brunson to lead the team to victory. Tomorrow’s game is the first in a three-game road trip for the Knicks, who are one of the best teams playing away. They will look to start off on a good foot with a win against the Mavericks but will need to find a way to slow down this season’s MVP front-runner, Luca Dončić.
I like the Mavericks in this game. I anticipate it will be a close contest, but in the last few minutes, Dončić will take over. The Knicks don’t have anyone who can keep up with him, nor do they have anyone who can take over on offense. Dallas only allows 109.5 points per game to their opponents and New York does not have the offensive firepower to overcome the Mavs lockdown defense.
Dončić will be a force to be reckoned with in this game, but another Maverick to watch is Spencer Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie is averaging 16.2 points and 5.2 assists per game. If the Knicks chose to double-team Dončić, Dinwiddie will be the Mavericks next best option. Dallas plays their best basketball through Luca, but against an imposing New York defense, could look to Spencer Dinwiddie to facilitate the offense. He can draw defenders in with his drives and open up space for Luca to do his thing.
Julius Randle will be the Knicks highest-scorer in this matchup. Dallas power forward’s Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith are out with injuries, leaving plenty of space for Randle to work. Dallas will struggle to slow down the versatile New York big man, and Randle will take full advantage of his defensive mismatches. It will be interesting to see how Dallas head coach Jason Kidd addresses the Julius Randle problem, but I think Dallas will use a mix of Christian Wood, Dwight Powell, and veteran JaVale McGee, to slow Randle down. Regardless, I still like the Mavericks, but Randle will have a big game.
As always, we are supported by Pointsbet.com. New users to the site can get two free bets of up to $2,000 when they join using the link below.
https://join.pointsbet.com/2chance/?token=HJaDQL2ew_2MXwoOiAaqsGNd7ZgqdRLk&promo=CAPPER3
For the best sports betting options, see the link below for OSB’s sports betting packages. There are monthly, weekly, and daily options that are designed to fit the needs of every sports betting enthusiast.
onlinesportsbet.com/betting-packages/
The link below will take you to OSB’s blog posts where you can get expert advice on every game, team, and player that will give you the best odds to win your bets.
