Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets: Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
This Sunday sees the Dallas Mavericks (38-29) host the Denver Nuggets (47-20) in a star-studded matchup between the league’s two supreme European talents in Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
Both teams will be desperate for a win in what is a stacked and congested Western Conference, as the end of the regular season approaches.
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Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks currently occupy a play-in position, sitting in eighth spot. They are only 3.5 games behind the New Orleans Pelicans in fifth, but just three ahead of the Golden State Warriors in tenth .
In their last game, they were defeated 119-126 by the second seed Oklahoma City Thunder, though were missing Doncic through injury. This loss snapped a four game winning streak, which followed three consecutive defeats. During this stretch, Doncic averaged 33.3 points and was named the Western Conference player of the week. Alongside him in the backcourt, Kyrie Irving has put up 25.4 points per game this season.
Doncic picked up a hamstring injury late in a victory at the Golden State Warriors, which subsequently meant he sat out the Thunder game. Should this keep him out for this game, expect Irving to take on a bigger load and have success in doing so. In six games without Doncic this season, Irving has averaged 31.5 points, but with a 3-3 record. Should the Slovenian miss this matchup, it will be difficult for the Mavericks to pick up a win.
Following their trip to Oklahoma, the Mavs return to Dallas for one game. They have endured some excellent form at home recently, winning five of their last eight games, the most recent being a 119-109 victory over the Steph Curry-less Warriors. Overall, their record is not as good, as it stands at 20-15, which puts them in the bottom half of the NBA. However, they do put up 119.8 points a game, but allow 116.3, which would suggest a high scoring game is on the cards.
Mike really put something extra in that dunk 💪 pic.twitter.com/Jw0SiYEbv8
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 16, 2024
Denver Nuggets
Western Conference leaders Denver are looking to win back-to-back Championships. Since the all-star break, they have the best record in the NBA, winning 11 and losing just once, which came against the Phoenix Suns. Jokic is performing like the MVP, and he is well on his way to picking up his third award. However, whilst everyone is aware of the quality the center possesses, it is the play of forward Michael Porter Jr which has caught the eye and helped Denver continue to dominate. In his last ten games, he has averaged 18.3 points, shooting an efficient 42.6% from three and 53.7% from the field.
Their last game was an away game at the San Antonio Spurs, in which they comfortably dispatched of them 117-106. Jokic led the way with 31 points.
The Nuggets have the sixth best road record in the league, so playing away from home should not lessen the likeliness of a victory. They score 110.8 points per game on the road, whilst also allowing 110.8. They have already beaten this weekend’s opponents twice this season, with Sunday’s meeting being the third of the season. They last faced off in mid-December, which the Nuggets won 130-104. The first head-to head was at the beginning of November, the Nuggets victorious 125-114.
In these two games Jokic has averaged a near triple double (20/12/8), with the defense having no answer on how to stop him, so they should expect a similar outcome this time. Jamal Murray is also in good scoring form, averaging 22.2 in the last five.
Prediction
With or without Doncic, the Mavericks are underdogs for this game. The Nuggets have lost just once since mid-February and do not look like slowing down. The hosts will certainly make it tough, and will put up a lot of points on the board. However, they will struggle defensively to stop the firepower of Jokic, Murray and Porter Jr. Michael Malone’s team will likely maintain their position at the top of the conference, with OddsNow backing the Denver Nuggets to win.