Venue/ Stadium: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
The Mavs (14-8) are starting to play well after a slow start and they have won 3 straight and while the Thunder (16-4) have the best record in the Western Conference they are coming off a loss.
Time/Date: 8 PM EST Wednesday, February 1, 2012
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Mavs -2
Over/Under: 197.5
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks Preview
Both of these teams lead their respective divisions and this game is a match up of last season’s Western Conference finals. NBA lines have the Mavs as slight 2-point home favorites with a total of 197.5.
These 2 teams have met twice already this season with each winning on their home floor.
This season the Mavs are 14-8 ATS with an O/U record of 9-13 and the Thunder are 11-9 ATS with an O/U record of 9-11.
Vince Carter has looked like his old self since coming back from an ankle injury averaging 18 ppg in his last 3 games.
Even with Dirk Nowitzki only scoring 10 points in each of his last 2 games since missing 5 the Mavs’ offense has played well scoring over 100 points in each game. Delonte West came of the bench to score 25 in the win over the Suns and Shaun Marion had 20. Still, the Mavs are really winning with their defense, which ranks 5th in the league in opponents points allowed.[soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Dallas D will be tested tonight by a Thunder team that ranks 3rd in the league in scoring and it is no secret that their main goal is to try to keep Kevin Durant (26.8 ppg) and Russell Westbrook (21.3 ppg) from having big games. Westbrook has been en fuego since he signed his max 5-year $80 million dollar contract.
Durant has averaged just under 20 ppg against Dallas in their house, which is his worst scoring average against any team in the West.
The Thunder will have to win this game with their offense, as their D only ranks 16th in the league and in their last 2 games they have given up nearly 110 points in each game.
In some betting trends for this Western Conference match up the Thunder are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall, and they have an Under record of 4-1-1 in their last 6 games as a road underdog of 0.5-4.5 points.
The Mavs are 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 home games, 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games as a home favorite, and they have an Over record of 4-0 in their last 4 games.
Jason’s Pick: The Thunder are only 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games facing the Mavs, but I think they will improve on that tonight. The Mavs are playing well, but they will not be able to stop Westbrook and Durant, as OKC will win this game and cover the spread with the total going Over.
