The Dallas Mavericks no longer have a shot at qualifying for the playoffs. That however won’t prevent them from looking to play the role of spoiler against a Los Angeles Clippers squad fighting for home court advantage for its first round matchup with the Utah Jazz. LA does however get to play this one the more rested of the two teams, and will take to their home hardwood playing some of their best ball of the season.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, April 5, 2017, at 10:30 p.m. ET from the Staples Center. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
For a brief moment, it looked like the Mavs would make a push for a seed in the playoffs. From February 25 to March 10, Harrison Barnes and his mates collected six wins in seven tries and covered each of those games against the closing pointspread. It’s unfortunately been a steep decline since with the team logging just four wins in their last 12 games. They split those games against the spread and have covered three of four as visitors.
The Clippers are in a dogfight with the Jazz for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Snagging it is of utmost importance since it will earn either of the teams home court advantage for at least the first round. Doc Rivers troops have been bringing it of late with the club winning three straight as well as seven of their last nine. That win streak hasn’t correlated to betting success however with the club just 4-5 against the spread during that stretch.
Season Rivalry
The Clip Joint blew the Mavs off the hardwood in the rival’s first meeting back on November 23 by busting out in the second quarter to secure the 124-104 win and cover as 10.5 point road favorites. The next two meetings played too much different results. In their trip to the Staples Center exactly a month later, Dirk Nowitzki and his mates were much more competitive winning outright 90-88 as 4 point dogs. They beat the Clippers on the glass and forced 20 turnovers. The most recent meeting on March 23 saw Chris Paul back in the lineup after missing the second game, but the end result was still eerily similar. LA turned it over 17 times, but owned the rebounding battle winning it 45-34. Still, Big D found a way to pull out the 97-95 outright win as 5.5 point underdogs.
Matchup to Watch
The team that has lost the turnover battle has gone on to lose the game in each of these team’s three meetings this season. Dallas turned it over 16 times against the Clippers in the first skirmish and got trounced by 20 points. Los Angeles turned it over a combined 37 times in the next two games and suffered two-point defeats in each game. It’s quite clear what Los Angeles has to do to come out on top of this one, and that would be to hold onto the basketball!
Free NBA ATS Picks
With Dallas 2-11 straight up when playing unrested to date and the Clippers playing with much more on the line, many will be quick to lay the points with Blake Griffin and company with the game more meaningful to the home team. LA will no doubt be a popular leg to parlays on Hump Day. Regardless, the Clippers have done nothing but cost their backers huge money when installed home favorites in the 10-15 point range this season in going 2-6 against the spread. You’re going to have to pay a premium to ride DeAndre and his mates in this one, and that’s simply just something I want no part of. Especially with the Mavs closing the regular season out strong in covering three of their last four games, and winning outright at San Antonio the lone time they received double digits on the road this season. Be sure to check the availability of both Nowitzki and Seth Curry before betting this tilt. If they’re a go, take the points. If not, pass.
NBA Odds: Los Angeles 110 – Dallas 102
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