Mavs vs. Raptors Betting Line – December 22
Carrie Stroup here with your Mavs vs. Raptors betting line for Tuesday night’s game. Toronto -4, Total: 195.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (15-12) at TORONTO RAPTORS (17-12)
The Mavericks will be looking for their third win in the past four games when they face the Raptors in Toronto on Tuesday.
Dallas has won two of its past three games both SU and ATS, defeating the Suns and Grizzlies at home and losing to the Pacers on the road. In both games that they won, the Mavericks held their opponents to under 100 points. They’ll need to place a major emphasis on defense moving forward because they are not winning the games that end up being shootouts.
The Raptors enter this contest after having struggled the past few weeks. Toronto has lost three of its past four games both SU and ATS and will need to start putting together some wins soon. This Raptors team did, however, defeat the Mavericks 102-91 in Dallas on Nov. 3. They’ll be looking to get back on track with a win in this game, but the Mavericks have different plans.
Dallas is 9-8 SU in Toronto since 1996 but just 7-10 ATS in those contests. 10 of those 16 games happened to have gone Under the total as well. One thing worth noting is that Dallas is 4-1 ATS this season when facing a team that attempts 18 or more threes per game.
Playing in Toronto’s favor is the fact that the team is 9-2 ATS this season when playing against a team with a winning record. PG Devin Harris (Hamstring) is questionable for the Mavericks and C Jonas Valanciunas (Finger) is doubtful for the Raptors, who are already without SF DeMarre Carroll (Knee) indefinitely.
The Mavericks most recently faced the Grizzlies and PF Dirk Nowitzki (17.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG) was on fire in his team’s 97-88 victory. Nowitzki had 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field and 2-for-3 shooting from the outside. He was incredibly efficient in the game and will now play a Raptors team that he played well against earlier in the season. Nowitzki had 18 points and seven boards on 6-for-10 shooting in that game. He’ll be counted on to score in this one and should have an easier time doing so, as the Raptors will be playing small for a large portion of the game.
PG Deron Williams (15.1 PPG, 5.8 APG, 1.2 SPG) will need to play better for Dallas in this one. He had 14 points and six assists against Memphis last game, but had just eight points in the loss to the Pacers the game before. The Mavericks need him to be a bit more consistent as a scorer moving forward.
SG Wes Matthews (12.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.1 SPG) could be an x-factor in this one. Matthews is 0-for-7 from the outside over the past two games and if he can find his stroke then it would really help this team earn a victory on the road.
The Raptors are struggling right now and will need PG Kyle Lowry (21.0 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.8 RPG, 2.3 SPG) to have a big game against the Mavericks on Tuesday. Lowry had just 13 points on 4-for-13 shooting against the Kings on Sunday and he needs to make better decisions moving forward. He sets the tone for this Raptors team and must take better shots and be more efficient on Tuesday. It should be no problem for him, as Deron Williams is not quick enough to guard him effectively.
Another guy who will be counted on to play well is SG DeMar DeRozan (22.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.0 SPG). Over the past two games, DeRozan is averaging 29.0 PPG on 20-for-41 shooting from the field. He has been incredibly efficient and knows that he needs to do more with SF DeMarre Carroll (12.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.9 SPG) out. DeRozan had 20 points on 13 shots the last time he faced Dallas and should be an even bigger part of the game on Tuesday. If he doesn’t take more than 15 shots then it’ll be hard for the Raptors to score enough points to win this one.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
