Knicks vs Mavericks Betting Odds: Luka Continues MVP Case

Dallas Mavericks Stringing Wins Together

The Dallas Mavericks will bring a three-game win streak into tonight’s home showdown with the New York Knicks. Let’s dive into our Knicks vs Mavericks Betting Odds preview to see how the two teams shape up.

The Mavs are coming off an emphatic Christmas Day win over the Lakers where they overturned a double-digit deficit to comfortably prevail 124-115 in front of their home fans. Dallas put up 51 points in a historic third quarter showing.

Meanwhile, the Knicks have now lost three-straight games after owning the longest win streak in the NBA prior to the start of their recent skid. The NBA team in Dallas will be hoping Jalen Brunson is available to make his return.

The market opened with the Knicks as 5.5-point underdogs for this one, but that number could move drastically in either direction depending on the final status of Brunson.

Game Information

Wood Continues Running with Starters

Christian Wood has finally been moved into the starting lineup and it seems head coach Jason Kidd will continue to allow his second best offensive NBA player to remain there given their recent run of results.

Wood has often been penalized for his poor defensive showing by coach Kidd but the constant public praise from Luka Doncic seems to have been enough to force the Mavs coach to pair the two together from the start.

Offensively, the Mavs are +2.2 points per 100 possessions better when Wood is on the floor and their +3.1% effective field goal average with him on the court is a significant boost to their shot profile.

One thing we’ve seen consistently from the Mavs is their ability to apply scoreboard pressure to teams who don’t match their volume shooting from deep. When Dallas is able to get in rhythm and put up points in a hurry from beyond the arc it becomes difficult for low-volume 3-point shooting teams to keep pace with them given how well they generally defend the paint.

The Knicks gave up a 12-point lead at home to Dallas earlier this season and it was largely thanks to a 41-15 third quarter run where New York couldn’t keep up with the barrage of three-point scoring from the Mavs.

New York Knicks Defense Coming Undone

The Knicks have given up 116.6 points per game in their last three games as they try to work their way through this mini-skid.

While the team still ranks as a top-10 team in terms of defensive rating on the season, they have shown some regression on that end of the floor that could be cause for concern in the coming months.

Despite going 4-3 over the past two weeks the team has ranked 25th in opponent location field goal percentage, meaning if teams shot league average from the spots they’ve been able to generate their looks… the Knicks defense would be rated well below their current form.

Dallas ranks 23rd in in rim frequency it doesn’t bode well that they’re allowing opponents to create good looks from areas that could be exploited in this matchup.

While they’ve done an excellent job of defending the rim they’ve been a bottom-half team in defending the midrange and perimeter. Given Dallas ranks 23rd in in rim frequency it doesn’t bode well that they’re allowing opponents to create good looks from areas that could be exploited in this NBA matchup.

Aside from the questionable tag on Brunson and the absence of Maxi Kleber for Dallas there’s not much to keep an eye on when the NBA injury news updates come through for this game. We would expect Brunson to play given he’s dealing with soreness as opposed to an injury of larger concern.

Despite Brunson’s potential inclusion we would still look at Dallas to continue rolling at the moment, especially considering how they perform at home. Lay the points with the home team here as they continue to find rhythm on offense.

That’s all for our Knicks vs Mavericks Betting Odds preview. Be sure to check back for more NBA picks and parlays.
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