Dallas Mavericks at Milwaukee Bucks 12/12/20: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-12-12 20:00:00 EDT
The Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks meet Saturday in preseason NBA action at the Fiserv Forum.
The Dallas Mavericks are coming off a six-game series loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Watching Luka Donic play is always a treat, but there’s questions about how much he’ll actually play in these preseason games. The Mavericks need to work the newly acquired Josh Richardson into the lineup and the first round pick Josh Green should see the floor a lot due to his defensive ability. There’s potential here for the Mavericks. However, the Mavs will be limited in the preseason with Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee and Jalen Brunson all deadline with injuries that have them sidelined for a while. James Johnson is day-to-day with a knee injury.
The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Miami Heat in five games the last time we saw them play. The Bucks lost some of their depth from a year ago, but they added an all-star guard in Jrue Holiday, and it’s going to be key to get him comfortable with his new team. Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo shouldn’t take long to develop a nearly unstoppable pick and roll. Donte DiVincenzo needs to be prepared for an expanded role at shooting guard and guys like DJ Wilson and Bobby Portis have to prove they’re capable of being reliable back-ups with some of the rotation thinner than a few months ago. Second round pick Jordan Nwora will be seen for the first time, a small forward who was a first-team All-ACC last year at Louisville.
The Mavericks are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 road games and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Bucks are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 home games and 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Mavericks are 3-0-2 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Milwaukee and 12-3-2 ATS in the last 17 meetings.
The Dallas Mavericks are going to be a worthwhile team in the underdog role, but they’re going to be without some key players for this contest. The Milwaukee Bucks should slyer their starters a bit in this contest considering they have a new point guard they have to work into the system. The Bucks also have to set the ton early this preseason, as it was a disappointing end to the season where they were the favorites to win the East.
I’ll lay the chalk with the Bucks.
