“Basketball” will be played today by the “Mavericks” and the “Pelicans”
For the second time in less than 24 hours, the Dallas Mavericks (22-18, 6th in the Western Conference) play basketball. Tonight, the Mavs hit the road to face off against the last place New Orleans Pelicans (9-32, 15th in the Western Conference). The Mavericks, fresh off of a miserable 118-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets, will look to rebound against a Pelicans team who just beat the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday night. This is the second night of a back-to-back for both teams, with each team facing brutal travel circumstances. Prepare accordingly!
On the injury front, Dereck Lively sprained his right ankle in the first quarter against the Nuggets last night. He’s listed as out on the NBA’s latest injury report. Kyrie Irving (bulging disc masquerading as a “lumbar sprain”) is listed as doubtful for tonight, even though he said postgame last night he expected to play. Elsewhere for the Mavs, Naji Marshall makes his first trip back to New Orleans since signing his 3-year, $27 million deal with Dallas this offseason. With how loved he was in New Orleans by the team and fans alike, expect a warm reception for him tonight.
The Pels have had a miserable year with injuries and that continues to be the case for this game as well. Zion Williamson (conditioning), Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain) & Herb Jones (right shoulder strain) are all out for the Pels, with Dejounte Murray (right elbow bursitis) being listed as probable.
Game intangibles
Dallas Mavericks (22-18) vs New Orleans Pelicans (9-32)
Tipoff: 7:00p from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana
How to watch: KFAA Channel 29 & Mavs TV have you covered for this one
Game odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook as of 1:30p
Spread: New Orleans -1.5 (-108/-112)
Over/Under: 221 (-108/-112)
Moneyline: Dallas -102
Props
Daniel Gafford under 7.5 rebounds (+100)
PJ Washington over 7.5 rebounds (-135)
Naji Marshall over 23.5 points + rebounds + assists (-110)
Taking Gafford’s under in rebounding leads me into PJ’s over, because I don’t think Washington gets over his number without Gafford going under his. Makes for a tasty 2-leg SGP at +208. I like Naji in this spot, especially after he got some momentum for himself late in yesterday’s game. Give me his over everything up to over 24.5.
Game pick: Mavericks +1 (-112)
I think that Dallas is eager to get the bad taste out of their mouth after getting swept by Denver in the two-game set they had. This New Orleans team is ravaged by injury, and I wonder how motivated they’ll be to bring the energy after picking up a nice win in Chicago on Tuesday. With Kyrie out, we’re getting a nice discount on the Mavs price. I’ll take the charity point with Dallas here, although it’s not the most confident I’ve ever been in a pick.