Dallas is heavily favored to rebound from their recent loss to Phoenix
The Dallas Mavericks return home following a 114-102 loss to the Phoenix Suns to play a Utah Jazz team looking to get its first win of the season. Utah is 0-2 on the young season, with home losses to Memphis and Golden State. Like the Mavericks, Utah is on the front end of a tough back-to-back, as they travel back to Salt Lake City after this one for a game at home against Sacramento on Tuesday. For Dallas, this game at home is the front end of a home/road back-to-back, with a National TV game awaiting them in Minnesota tomorrow. It’s an interesting spot for both teams, which means we can find some edges here. Let’s get into how to bet the Jazz and the Mavs.
Game Intangibles
Utah Jazz (0-2) at Dallas Mavericks (1-1)
Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. CST at the American Airlines Center
How to Watch: Streaming on MavsTV; over the air on KFAA Ch. 29 or your regional TEGNA Channel
Odds via the DraftKings Sportsbook as of 10:00a
- Spread: Dallas -11.5 (up from -10.5 at open)
- Over/Under: 232 (down from 234 at open)
- Moneyline: Utah (+470)
The Mavs are heavily favored to get back in the win column, as the Jazz have an implied win probability of just 17.5%. It won’t be my official play, but I lean pretty strongly towards both the full game over 232 and the Mavs team total over 122.5. Utah has given up 126 and 127 points respectively to start the year, and there’s no reason Dallas’ high-powered offense can’t put up those numbers, either.
Player Props
- Luka Doncic over 7.5 1st Quarter points (-110)
- Kyrie Irving over 20.5 points (-120)
- Colin Sexton over 14.5 points (-105)
Luka is typically a fast starter, averaging 9.8 points per first quarter last year. I’ve bet this number in both games this year, going 1-1. The books are behind to adjust, as even with his new teammate Klay Thompson, Doncic is still looking to get his early on. I also expect Kyrie Irving to shoot the ball better at some point, as he’s missed his fair share of bunnies to start the year. Lastly, I like Colin Sexton in this spot to go get 15-plus points. He has the shot volume to get here, and with some of Dallas’ best perimeter defenders coming off the bench, opportunities will be available.
Play of the Day: Dallas -11.5
Since Jason Kidd took over as head coach of the Mavericks, Dallas is a league best 59.7% against the spread following a loss. Kidd’s teams generally respond well to losses, and I expect the same tonight after what was a pretty rough loss for them in Phoenix. I’ll lay the points with Dallas in a “get right” game.