Grizzlies vs Mavericks Preview: Dallas To Outshine Hurt Memp
Mavericks Favored To Oust Injury-Riddled Grizzlies
Dallas Favored by NBA Odds With a Moderate Total
The Dallas Mavericks face the Memphis Grizzlies for the fourth and final time this 2023-24 NBA regular season. Dallas won two of the three previous meetings, though it did drop its home game 108-94. That means little here, given the Grizzlies vs Mavericks betting odds, which see the latter favored by nine points. Dallas has been in better form lately as the injury-riddled Grizzlies look to win a third straight game.
Grizzlies vs Mavericks 
Records: Memphis Grizzlies (13-23), Dallas Mavericks (22-15)
Day/Time: Tuesday, January 09, 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Stream: NBA TV
Grizzlies Can’t Catch Break with Injuries
Ja Morant is done for the season. The Grizzlies star is reportedly opting to have season-ending shoulder surgery. He missed the game against Phoenix as Memphis still found a way to win. The team is 1-1 when he sits out since returning from his 25-game suspension. But Memphis’ odds of finishing in the bottom three should now shorten.
“The Memphis Grizzlies today announced the following medical update for guard Ja Morant: At Saturday’s training session, Morant suffered a subluxation of his right shoulder. Following ongoing soreness and instability, Morant underwent an MRI that revealed an underlying labral tear. Morant will undergo season-ending surgery and is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2024-25 season.”
Missing Morant would add another blow for Memphis. The team is already ranked last in the NBA standings in offensive rating (107.4). However, the team does play a bit better on the road, with 10 of its 13 wins coming here. A slight improvement to its offense has led to the totals going over in five of their last six road trips.
But against Dallas, Memphis will need to rely more on its defense. Dallas has the fifth-best offense (121.1) when at home. The total, set at 235.5 for this game, is high, given Memphis’ deficient scoring capabilities.
Memphis needs to hold Dallas to under 120 points. That’s a tough ask given Luka Doncic, one of the NBA’s leading scorers, and Kyrie Irving both being available.
Memphis will be hard-pressed without Morant to keep up with Dallas’s scoring. Hence, the Grizzlies vs Mavericks betting odds took a while to come out. However, Dallas could underestimate Memphis a little, which may allow for a backdoor cover here.
Dallas is Flawed, But Fun
The book was out on Dallas the moment it made the deal for Irving last year: sacrifice defense for offense. That has not been as pronounced this season as Dallas “improved” to having the 17th-best defensive rating (115.8) in the NBA. But this team will win games by putting up loads of points.
We mentioned the magic number of 120 points. Dallas is 18-2 when it scores this many points. Its two losses came against Milwaukee and Oklahoma City, NBA teams that are ranked third and fourth in the NBA in offensive rating, respectively.
Doncic and Irving combine to produce 57.2 points and 14.3 assists. They constitute nearly three-quarters of Dallas’s offense. While they handle the offense, the rest of the team defends, boards, and does the dirty work. It’s been a working formula as this team is headed to the postseason, given their NBA playoff odds.
Against Memphis, Dallas’ two wins were the games where they scored 120+. Their lone loss saw them held to just 94 points, mainly due to missing Doncic. Irving struggled mightily in this game, scoring 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Dallas is just 1-3 when Doncic does not play.
So the Grizzlies vs Mavericks betting odds favor Dallas comfortably here as he’s available. Doncic averages 25.8 points and 7.1 assists in 13 career games against Memphis. The total went over in both games he played against it this season. So keep an eye on the line closer to game time.
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