Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks 1/14/23 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Dallas Mavericks invade the Moda Center to do battle with the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night in NBA action.

The Dallas Mavericks have been in pretty good shape as they’ve won nine of their last 12 games overall and they will be hoping to stay hot after outlasting the Lakers in a thrilling 119-115 double overtime road win on Thursday. Luka Doncic led the team with a triple-double of 35 points with 14 rebounds and 13 assists, Christian Wood added 24 points with 14 rebounds and five blocks while Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in with 22 points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Mavericks shot 50 percent from the field and 14 of 42 from the 3-point line as they stormed out of the gates to an early 19-point lead, but they couldn’t hold off the Lakers and had to get it done in the second overtime period where they outscored the Lakers by 11-7.

Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers have been in a major slump as they’ve lost nine of their last 11 games overall and they will be hoping to arrest a five-game slide after getting beaten by the Cavaliers in a 119-113 loss on Thursday. Damian Lillard led the team with 50 points on 16 of 28 shooting, Jerami Grant added 22 points on eight of 16 shooting while Jusuf Nurkic tallied 12 points with 12 rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 51 percent from the field and 11 of 33 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in control after building an early 14-point lead, but they never put the Cavaliers away and it cost them in the end as the Cavaliers poured in 68 points in the second half to keep them in their slump.

Looking at the betting trends, the Mavericks are 8-20 ATS in their last 28 road games, 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games against a team with a losing record and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Trail Blazers are 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games, 0-5 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 0-5 ATS in their last five games overall.Head to head, the over is 8-1 in the last nine meetings in Portland, the Mavericks are 15-5-1 ATS in the last 21 meetings in Portland and the Mavericks are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings overall.

The Mavericks are going to be shorthanded again as Dorian Finney Smith, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber are all out while Christian Wood is listed as day to day, while the Trail Blazers are still missing Justise Winslow and they are keeping an eye on Damian Lillard who is questionable due to a left ankle sprain. The Mavericks have yet to fully hit their stride this season, but they’ve still managed to win nine of their last 12 games which is impressive. It hasn’t been the same story for the Trail Blazers who have been mired in their worst slump of the season and they could again be missing their leader in Lillard. The Mavericks are 15-5-1 ATS in the last 21 meetings in Portland, so I think they represent great value as the underdogs in this spot.