NBA Preview Tuesday 2nd of March

 

Current Bank: 119.16 units (+19.16 units)

 

Dallas Mavericks v Orlando Magic

11:10 am AEST

The Mavericks head down to Orlando for a match up that should prove little concern to them. The Mavericks sit in 9th in the Western Conference standings, a touch disappointing with an exactly 500 record (16 wins, 16 losses) after a slow start to the year. They’ve now won 7 of their last 9 games with a handful of impressive wins to go in that streak.

What has changed recently is their 3pt shooting %. At the start of February, the Mavericks were the worst team in the league in this crucial stat, they’ve now moved up to 22nd, which overall isn’t impressive, but its an 8 place leap and has led to the Mavericks being able to level up their table going into the 2nd half of the season. Defensively, they are a bottom 5 team however they are coming up against the 3rd worst offence in the league in the Magic, so this shouldn’t be too much a dampener on this match up. Going forward it’s a concern.

The Magic are not a good team. They sit on 13 wins for the year but because of how weak the East is, they are only 3 games out of playoff contention at the halfway point of the year. Offensively they are a train wreck, the 4th worst field goal shooting team and bottom 6 in making 3 point shots. Defensively, the rank in the bottom 12 of the league and coming up against an in form Dallas team with star power in Doncic & Porzingis, as well as crucial help from Brunson and Hardaway Jr, the Mavericks should steam forward to their 8th win in 10 games against a lowly Orlando Magic.

The line here opened with the Mavericks a 6.5 point favourite, this has quickly moved to 7 flat and I anticipate will keep on moving. While the number isn’t enormous value, am expecting the Mavericks to just have too many weapons for the Magic who are so reliant on star Vucevic to put up huge numbers. If Porzingis can nullify him, this should be easy pickings for the Mavericks

 

BACK: The Dallas Mavericks -7 at $1.90 for 2 units.

 

 

Utah Jazz v New Orleans Pelicans

12:10 pm AEST

The Jazz are the best team in basketball at the half way point of the year. A statement no one really saw coming pre season. Touted as a definite playoff team who wouldn’t really threaten the two LA teams. They are the real deal, three games clear of the LA teams and 5 clear of the Phoenix Suns. They are extremely balanced. Third overall in both Defence and Offence and have a super even spread of contributors throughout the team. Their opponents here, the Pelicans, are anything but balanced.

The Pelicans are the 6th best offence in the league, a surprising stat. Zion & Ingram have been carrying this team with mammoth performances night in, night out. They are lethal in their own regards, Ingram from deep and a mid range specialist, Zion is just so strong and a bully on the inside. They are a young tandem that in a few years could be unstoppable and a force to be reckoned with. However, the rest of the offence is shaky at best with contributions that can be anything on any night. Defensively they are a mess, which is common for young teams. They rank 2nd last, only ahead of the Sacramento Kings. They allow  the most three pointers against them per game, and fourth last in points against. They are a strong rebounding team but it ends there. These two met earlier in the year in Utah where the Jazz won both games by 16 and 11 points respectively. On both occasions they were a -6.5 point favourite, which is where they find themselves today. The match up is fantastic for the Jazz, and am expecting this third meeting to go the same way as the first two.

The Jazz are a -6.5 point favourite in New Orleans. Similar to the above, it’s not the most ideal number but it is slightly moving in their direction, and it’s certainly a betting opportunity. Am expecting them to just pack too much of a defensive punch for the young Pelicans here.

 

BACK: The Utah Jazz -6.5 at $1.87 for 2.5 units.