Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks
Monday, 1/2/12, 8:30 PM EST, TV: NBATV
Opening Point Spread: Oklahoma City -1
Current Betting Line: Oklahoma City -2.5
Opening Total: 199.5
Current Total: 196.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Oklahoma City comes in with a perfect 5-0 record after picking up a 107-97 win over the Phoenix Suns as 11.5-point home favorites. The Thunder are 2-3 ATS on the year and the ‘over’ is 3-2 in their first five games. “You’ve got to start the new year with a win,” stated Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook about this particular contest. “Hopefully, we can keep this going.” Fast-break points is a major advantage for this team against almost every opponent, outscoring the Suns by a 21-5 margin in that category on Dec. 31. Oklahoma City is 9-5 ATS as a road favorite of three points or less.
The Thunder have started the season with a perfect mark through five games due to a defense that’s held opponents to under 45 percent shooting in every game. Kevin Durant is also a major reason for the team’s success, starting the season with four 30-point games, but scored just 12 on Saturday. It’s important to note that he played just 26 minutes in that particular contest.
Dallas has certainly suffered a hangover after winning the NBA championship a year ago, dropping to 1-4 on the year with a 99-82 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves as 2.5-point road favorites last night. “We got a lot of new pieces and we’re trying to do this on the run,” stated Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd. The squad will try to avoid its worst start since opening the 1998-99 campaign with a 1-8 record. Dallas is a dismal 10-22 ATS in January the last two-plus seasons.
The Mavericks are still led offensively by star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who is averaging 21.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Dallas will meet with Oklahoma City for the fourth time in a span of 16 days, playing two preseason games and also dropping a 104-102 decision as five-point road underdogs on Dec. 29. The Mavericks are 6-5 against the Thunder since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, but have lost four of the last six regular season meetings. Nowitzki did manage to net a season-best 29 points in the first meeting this year, while the rest of the starters combined to tally just 34 points.
Bettors will likely back the Mavericks due to the underdog covering the last five meetings, while the Thunder are 2-5 ATS versus Western Conference foes.
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