Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Clippers – NBA
Tonight we will see two teams from the Western Conference clash at American Airlines Center, Dallas.
Dallas Mavericks are currently at 10th position in the West with a overall record of 30-40. Looking at their last 5 games, they are holding a 2-3 record, winning against Washington Wizards (107:112) and Brooklyn Nets (104:111). On the other hand they failed to win against Toronto Raptors (100:78), Philadelphia 76ers (116:74) and GSW (87:112). At home stadium, they are suffering a 2 game losing streak, but were holding a 6 game winning streak prior to those 2 defeats. That rounds up to a record of 7-3 in the last 10 home games, which is a respectable record to say the least. Looking at the recent match against Golden State Warriors, Dallas were holding on for the first 12 minutes (30:28), but were completely dominated in 2nd quarter (20:34), thus going into 2nd half 12 points behind Golden State. Sadly for Dallas, they just had not found the answer for GSW offence, who were adding more and more points to their lead with each passing quarter. Throughout the match we saw Dallas shooting with a poor 35.9% accuracy, whereas GSW managed to shot with 55.1% accuracy. Top scorers of the match (were all from Warriors): Thompson (23pts), Clark (18pts), Curry (17pts).
The visiting team, LA Clippers are enjoying a 3 game winning streak and a overall 3-2 record in the past 5 games. They won against Cleveland Cavaliers (108:78), NY Knicks (114:105) and LA Lakers (109:133), whereas they did not manage to do the same against Denver Nuggets (129:114) and Milwaukee Bucks (96:97). It seems as Clippers found their rhythm in the past few games and are racking up some nice results. Despite their away record not being that great (2-3), they can compensate it with great performances at home stadium. Now let’s take a look at their recent match against their neighbours, Los Angeles Lakers. The match was one sided for most of 48 minutes. Clippers managed to get a hefty lead prior to 2nd half (40:70), to which they added another 4 points in 3rd quarter (24:38). Last 12 minutes were surprisingly in Lakers favour (35:25), but with a 34 point lead we cannot expect a team to give their 100%, so this might be linked to Clippers stepping into 4th quarter “too relaxed”. Despite the poor performance in the last quarter, Clippers still won by 24 points. Top scorers of the match: Paul (27pts), Redick (24pts), Ingram (21pts).
Verdict & Prediction
Looking solely at last few games, Clippers are clearly performing better, winning against Cavaliers is a tough job, but we must keep in mind Cavaliers are currently struggling and are not performing up to par. The key factor here will be home court advantage. Of course, Dallas Maverick have failed to impress in the last 2 home games, but they are still a strong team when playing at American Airlines Center. In my eyes, Dallas just might surprise everyone and take this one. As for missing players, Stone D. will miss the match from Clippers, whereas Curry S. suffered a left shoulder injury in a match against his brother (GSW) and claimed it was sore afterwards. He is currently listed as questionable, but I expect him to appear on the court.
Prediction: Dallas Mavericks +5.00 points
Odds: 2.05 Pinnacle
