Mavs vs. Thunder Betting Line

Written by:
Carrie Stroup
Published on:
Apr/01/2015
Mavs vs. Thunder Betting Line

Carrie Stroup with your Mavs vs. Thunder betting line courtesy of Sportsbook.  Line (Subject to change): OKC -2, Total: 215

The Oklahoma City Thunder return home after a three-game road trip when they host the Dallas Mavericks this Wednesday night.                              

Dallas has impressed this year as it continues to be one of the stronger teams in the Western Conference, but the team comes into this one as losers in four of the past five contests both SU and ATS. The Mavs have been able to get only 93.8 PPG during that period and have been horrible to bettors since February 25th, going a meager 3-12 ATS. They failed to cover the three points they were getting on the road against the Pacers on Sunday when they lost 104-99 in the second game of a three-game road trip. They gave up a slim fourth-quarter lead in the loss as Indiana made 38-of-76 shots (50% FG); including 10-of-17 shots from behind the arc (59% 3PM).

The Thunder have had to deal with the absence of Kevin Durant for the majority of the season and they have continued to play will with a record of 7-3 SU and ATS since March 13th. They put up 109 or more points in seven of those games, but have fallen off a little in the last handful of matchups with 93 or fewer points in three of the past five outings. They got back their mojo on Sunday when they traveled to Phoenix as 2.5-point underdogs and left with a nice 109-97 victory. Oklahoma City outscored the Suns by 15 in the final quarter as they grabbed 48 rebounds and forced 18 turnovers.

Dallas has been alright when playing as the road team, evidenced by its 20-17 SU record (16-20-1 ATS) in away games while the Thunder are a very impressive 27-9 SU (22-14 ATS) at home. These clubs have seen each other plenty this year, with three meetings already in the books where the home team has won each time as the Mavericks are 2-1 SU (1-2 ATS). Dallas averaged 115.5 PPG in the two contests that they hosted, but were beat 104-89 as five-point underdogs when they headed to Oklahoma City, making a mere 36.3% of their field goals in the process.

It has been a close series over the past three seasons with the Thunder holding a 6-4 SU (5-5 ATS) edge. Trends show that the Mavericks are 11-6 ATS (65%) after having lost four of their past five games in the last three years as Oklahoma City has gone 20-14 ATS (59%) after scoring 105 points or more this season. As far as injuries go, Dallas has both SG Monta Ellis (Calf) and PG J.J. Barea (Ankle) listed as questionable and the Thunder will be without SF Kevin Durant (Foot), PF Serge Ibaka (Knee) and PF Nick Collison (Ankle).                                         

Even though the Mavericks’ offense hasn’t been at the top of its game recently, they still rank amongst the best in the league with 104.1 PPG (3rd in league) behind 46% FG (6th in league). They aren’t anywhere near as good on defense, though, as they allow opponents to score 100.9 PPG (10th-worst in league) with 44.9% of their shots dropping.

SG Monta Ellis’ (19.1 PPG, 4.2 APG, 1.9 SPG) status is unknown at this point and it would be vital for him to play as he’s hit 21 of his past 37 shots (57% FG) over his past two outings. He was also impressive (24 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) a couple of weeks ago when he saw the Thunder but made a putrid 2-of-13 attempts with seven points, four assists and six steals when he hit the road against them.

PF Dirk Nowitzki (17.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG) has made just 40% of his shots over the past five contests but is coming off a solid showing (19 points, 5 rebounds) in the loss to Indiana. He was phenomenal (26.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG) in the two home games against OKC, but went for just 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting on the road.

SF Chandler Parsons (15.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.1 SPG) went off (27 points, 10 rebounds) despite losing to the Pacers and has averaged 21.7 PPG (55% FG), 5.3 RPG and 1.7 SPG in three games against the Thunder on the year.        

Oklahoma City has had an explosive offensive unit on the year, netting 103.3 PPG (8th in league) on 44.7% shooting (13th in league). Their fast pace has led to opponents scoring quite a lot of points as well, giving up 100.8 PPG (11th-worst in league) behind 43.4% shooting (2nd in league).

PG Russell Westbrook (27.6 PPG, 8.6 APG, 7.2 RPG, 2.2 SPG) will certainly be in the MVP talks and has continued to be dominant with 33 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals and block in the win over the Suns on Sunday. The Mavericks have not been able to slow him down as he’s averaged 25.3 PPG (39% FG), 10.3 APG, 7.3 RPG and 3.7 SPG in the three games against them.

C Enes Kanter (14.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG) has had a double-double in eight of his past nine performances on the court, putting up 19.9 PPG with 12.7 RPG in that time. One of those came against the Mavericks when he had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his only game against this opponent with his new team.

C Steven Adams (7.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.2 BPG) has had plenty of run recently with six double-doubles in the past nine matchups and in the two contests where he faced Dallas this year he averaged 13.0 PPG with 7.0 RPG.                                   

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter

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