New Orleans Pelicans (26-26) vs. Dallas Mavericks (27-25)
February 2, 2023 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Dallas Mavericks -4.5; Over/Under: +229
(Get latest betting odds)
The Dallas Mavericks play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been in terrible form as they’ve lost 12 of their last 14 games overall and they will be hoping to put a halt to a nine-game skid after falling short against the Nuggets in a 122-113 road loss on Tuesday. CJ McCollum led the team with 21 points and seven assists, Herbert Jones added 21 points with four assists and five steals while Brandon Ingram chipped in with 16 points and nine assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot 49 percent from the field and eight of 27 from the 3-point line as they stormed out of the gates with 35 points in the first quarter to take a 12-point lead, but they couldn’t contain any of the Nuggets’ starters and eventually leaked 36 points in the third quarter to allow the Nuggets to run away with it in the end.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks have been in poor form as they’ve lost six of their last nine games overall, but they will be eager to build some momentum in this one after taking down the Pistons in a 111-105 home win on Monday. Luka Doncic led the team with 53 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 17 of 24 shooting, while Spencer Dinwiddie added 12 points but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Mavericks shot 49 percent from the field and 10 of 34 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in trouble after allowing the young Pistons to take the lead going into halftime, but they leaned heavily on Doncic who delivered early and often to craft out a gritty win for the Mavericks.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a loss, 1-4 ATS in their last five road games and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall. The Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games, 5-20-1 ATS in their last 26 games following a win and 16-33-2 ATS in their last 51 games overall.
Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Pelicans are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings in Dallas and the Pelicans are 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings overall.
The Pelicans are going to be missing a few players again as Zion Williamson and Dyson Daniels are both out, while the Mavericks are still missing Christian Wood and Maxi Kleber. The Pelicans have been a mess ever since Williamson went down with injury as McCollum just hasn’t been able to pick up the scoring slack. The Mavericks haven’t been playing much better lately, but they still have Doncic who just carried the team to a win with a classic 53-point performance on Monday. The Mavericks were far from convincing in their narrow win over the lowly Pistons, but they have the best player on the court, so I’m happy to take a chance at the short line.
