The Dallas Mavericks are lucky they won’t have to run up against the Sacramento Kings come the playoffs. If they did, the current Southwest Division leaders would be toast! Luckily for Luka Doncic and his mates, they won’t have to run up against Big Sac again this season. Unfortunately for them, they’ll have to test their might against the Eastern Conference heavyweight Brooklyn Nets who are set to pay a visit to the Lone Star State for the first leg of TNT’s Thursday night doubleheader; a game removed from battling Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat no less. As well the Mavs have been playing down the stretch, they’re dealing with a couple bothersome injuries to key players in Maxi Kleber, Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. On top of that, they’ve been fortunate to come out the victor at online sportsbooks in a number of recent matchups. I believe it all catches up to them in this spot.
Take this non-conference showdown in live on Thursday, May 6, 2021. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. The game will be broadcast live on TNT. BookMaker.eu will have NBA odds available for this and every game set to go off on tonight’s NBA slate.
NBA Betting Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
Kevin Durant has been back in the Nets’ fold since April 7. During that stretch, Brooklyn has gone on to win eight of its 14 played games. More importantly, it logged pointspread triumphs nine times. In the games he actually laced up his shoes, the Nets have logged 6-3 SU and ATS records. Since sitting out three straight games April 20-23, KD has been scorching hot averaging 33.5 points per game to help lead his teammates to 3-1 SU and ATS records. Durant would tally 42 points the last two times he stepped onto the hardwood; both outputs set his season-high. Dallas currently owns the No. 8 ranked scoring defense in the league in allowing 110.0 points per game. Even shorthanded, the unit will need to put forth one of its best performances of the season to extinguish the Durantula’s flames.
Brooklyn Nets
KD was simply a marvel to watch on Sunday afternoon as he went shot-for-shot with Giannis Antetokounmpo in one of the most amazing matchups of “Horse” an NBA fan or bettor will ever get to witness. Unfortunately, his Herculean effort would amount to a tough to stomach 117-114 defeat and non-cover against the Bucks as 2.5-point underdogs. While he did go on to convert 16 of 33 shots and turn them into a season-high 42 points, “The Greek Freak” took it a step higher by going off for a game-high 49 points to lead Milwaukee to the impressive win and cover. Durant did however miss a couple of late-game 3-balls that would’ve put his team in a position to win had they gone down. Seriously, what’s this offense going to look like when James Harden returns?
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks entered the week having had their three-game win streak snapped by the Sacramento Kings. I don’t know what it is, but Big D simply has no clue how to match up against Big Sac. A week removed from dropping a 113-106 decision in Sacramento as 6.5-point road favorites, Luka and his mates would follow it up with an embarrassing 111-99 outright defeat back home once again as decided favorites. The loss dropped them to 0-3 SU and ATS versus the Kings for the season. Luka went off for a game-high 30 points, but the Mavs next highest scorer proved to be Jalen Brunson who added 17 on 8 of 12 shooting. It simply wasn’t enough as Big D’s defense allowed Buddy Hield and company to convert at an insane 56 percent from the field.
Brooklyn vs. Dallas Prediction
While Dallas owns one of the better scoring defenses in the league, it hasn’t been very efficient; as evidenced by ranking No. 19 per the current Hollinger Ratings. Because of it, I’m expecting Brooklyn to have itself some fun in this rematch after dropping a 115-98 decision to Dallas at home back on February 27. The Nets went off the board as 1-point home underdogs per the closing NBA odds in that one with James Harden forced to go at the Mavs minus the other two from the “Big Three.” KD won’t allow himself to miss this one taking to a hardwood in his collegiate state, and I’m pretty sure Kyrie will be back in the mix after missing the first go round. Dallas has been hit or miss as a home underdog in going 4-4 SU and ATS, while the Nets have won and covered three of the last four times they closed road chalk. I’ll lay the short number here and look for the Nets to even the series up in a covering fashion.
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