Golden State’s Holding On To The 10-Seed In The Western Conference
Take a Look at The Mavericks vs Warriors Odds For Tuesday's Matchup
Thanks to a seven-game winning streak, the Dallas Mavericks have moved up to fifth in the Western Conference. If the season ended today, the Mavericks would be in a top-six spot and guaranteed a playoff spot.
That’s quite a turnaround after failing even to make the Play-In Tournament last season. Dallas will look to earn its 8th consecutive win against the Golden State Warriors, who are currently in the same position Dallas was in last year.
The Warriors are in 10th place in the Western Conference and have just a two-game lead over the Houston Rockets for that 10th and final spot in the Play-In Tournament.
Both teams desperately need wins before the end of the season to position themselves in the best spot come playoff time.
As a reminder, this game is a makeup game from the January 19 postponement. It wasn’t originally supposed to be one of the NBA games today.
With that, the Mavericks are 1.5-point favorites at home, with the total currently at 234.5.
We’ll break down the Mavericks vs Warriors odds for this exciting Western Conference showdown on TNT below.
Dallas Mavericks vs Golden State Warriors 
Day/Time:
Location: Chase Center
Streaming: TNT
Mavericks vs Warriors Odds & Trends
The Dallas Mavericks have gone 43-31 against the spread this season. Not every game has been exciting for Dallas, and more games have been under than over this year. But that 45-29 record straight up has been appealing.
On the other hand, the Warriors have gone 39-33-2 against the spread. The sportsbooks didn’t like the Warriors coming into the season. However, through a lot of adversity, the Warriors are still hanging on to a potential chance at the NBA playoffs.
Golden State is only 18-19 at home, while the Mavericks are 23-14 on the road.
PJ Washington’s Improvement With Dallas
Nobody really thought anything of it when the Mavericks added PJ Washington at the trade deadline.
After all, he’s only averaged 12.6 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and under two assists per game this season.
But that doesn’t tell the whole picture. Washington has been terrific defensively, helping the Mavericks go from 118.3 points per 100 possessions when he’s not on the floor to 111.6 points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor defensively. That’s a major turnaround and a huge improvement for the Dallas defense.
The Mavericks have also given up fewer fastbreak points since Washington came over.
However, Dallas has still been patient with Washington’s shot. He’s only hit 43.3% from the field this season and has shot only 35.8% over the last ten games. If Dallas can help Washington with his offensive game in the summer, he could be a really big find heading into next year.
Road Warriors
With the Houston Rockets playing tremendous basketball over the last month, the Golden State Warriors felt some pressure on their shoulders.
The Rockets had been closing in on the Warriors’ final spot in the Play-In Tournament. However, Golden State responded with four consecutive road victories over Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, and San Antonio.
The Warriors were on the road for eight consecutive days and went 4-1 during a five-game road trip. Now they’re in a position to at least get a chance to make the playoffs in the Play-In Tournament.
Someone Has To Lose, But We Don’t Want To Bet That!
The Dallas Mavericks have always been solid offensively. At the end of the day, the Mavericks have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Those are two of the best scorers in NBA History, let alone in the NBA right now.
The Mavericks just earned a win over the red-hot Rockets, 125-107. The offense scored 131.9 points per 100 possessions and held the Rockets to just 114.1 points per 100 possessions.
That was a solid defensive performance, but they’ve done way better over the last ten games. In four of those ten games, the Mavericks have held opponents to fewer than 100 points per 100 possessions.
Teams are struggling to shoot at a high percentage, and the Mavericks have done well on the defensive glass while adding a solid portion of turnovers. Opponents will still get to the foul line against Dallas, but that’s the only true blemish for this defense over the last few weeks.
The Mavericks will defend their seven-game winning streak against the Warriors, who have been just as good defensively.
During that four-game winning streak, the Warriors held opponents to 105.6 points per 100 possessions or fewer in three of those four games.
The offense still hasn’t been up to par, as we’re typically used to seeing out of the Warriors. The offense is good on the glass but rarely gets to the foul line. As we stated earlier, that could change as Dallas fouls at a higher rate defensively.
Golden State just isn’t that aggressive. They’d rather take a lot of three-pointers. But who wouldn’t when Steph Curry is on the floor?
While we’d love to pick a winner for this Mavericks-Warriors game, the best bet looks to be the Under 234.5.
Golden State really locked in defensively on the road, and Dallas has improved tremendously on the defensive end over the last month or so. You don’t win games consecutively if the defense isn’t playing well. Both teams are on winning streaks and winning because of timely offense but terrific defense.
Still, the Warriors will likely be in the Play-In Tournament’s bracket, even with a loss against the Mavericks. It’ll also be hard to bet the Warriors if they come out of the Play-In Tournament with a playoff spot in the NBA playoff standings.
Right now, the Mavericks vs Warriors odds have us looking at the Under 234.5. So let’s go with it.
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