San Antonio at Dallas
Time: 8:35 PM ET, Dec 26, 2013
Spread: SAS -3
M/L: SAS -155; DAL +135
Total: 208
Betting Odds courtesy of Bovada
The San Antonio Spurs played yesterday on Christmas night and lost at home to the Houston Rockets. Tonight, Gregg Popovich’s squad will make the short trek to Dallas to take on a Mavericks team that has managed to stay afloat in this tough Western Conference, despite a lot of preseason questions about Dirk Nowitzki’s decline and the overall declination of the talent level on the team.
Free agent acquisition Monta Ellis has thrived in Dallas and the team sits four games above .500 at 16-12. The potential to steal a win against a much better Spurs squad is real and recognized by NBA oddsmakers at Bovada who set the line just three points in favor of the Spurs.
The Mavericks also knocked off the Houston Rockets their last time out on Dec 23, winning 111-104 in Houston. Dirk was vintage Dirk, scoring 31 points in the victory. His overall numbers have fallen, but mainly due to his decrease in minutes. Nowitzki is seeing just 32.8 minutes per game this year in an attempt to preserve his health and energy for the postseason.
Still, the German leads the team in scoring with 21.5 points per game and the aforementioned Ellis is right behind him with 20.6 per contest. Point guard Jose Calderon has effectively run the show, and though he causes defensive issues with his lack of foot speed, the Mavs still have seemingly upgraded from Darren Collison (who now backs up Chris Paul in Los Angeles).
The Spurs may seek to rest its starters more in this game due to the back-to-back, and Popovich doesn’t expend heavy milage on Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, anyway. That line of thinking is prevalent among bettors who are choosing the Mavs in a moneyline upset. While the Spurs are the best team in the NBA, it’s early in the season and Gregg Popovich has his eyes set on a fifth ring this postseason, not a paltry December win over a mediocre Mavericks team.
San Antonio Trends: 4-0 ATS in last 4 following ATS loss; OVER 6-0 in last 6 following SU loss of more than 10; OVER 5-0 in last 5 following SU loss.
Dallas Trends: OVER 6-0 in last 6 after scoring 100 or more in previous game; OVER 5-0 in last 5 overall; OVER 5-0 in last 5 following ATS win.
Head-to-head: Spurs 5-1 ATS in last 6 in Dallas; 9-2 ATS in last 11 meetings.
