The Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans meet Thursday in NBA action at the Smoothie King Center. The Dallas Mavericks look for a win after winning 12 of their last 17 games. The New Orleans Pelicans look for a win after splitting their last 10 games.
The Dallas Mavericks are averaging 106.3 points on 45.3 percent shooting and allowing 103 points on 45.4 percent shooting. Luka Doncic is averaging 27 points and 9 assists, while Jalen Brunson is averaging 16.1 points and 3.8 rebounds. Davis Bertans is the third double-digit scorer and Dorian Finney-Smith is grabbing 4.8 rebounds. The Dallas Mavericks are shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc and 76.7 percent from the free throw line. The Dallas Mavericks are allowing 33.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 43.7 rebounds per game.
The New Orleans Pelicans are averaging 106.1 points on 44.6 percent shooting and allowing 109.3 points on 46.5 percent shooting. CJ McCollum is averaging 26 points and 7 rebounds, while Brandon Ingram is averaging 22.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas is the third double-digit scorer and Devonte’ Graham is grabbing 2.5 rebounds. The New Orleans Pelicans are shooting 32.7 percent from beyond the arc and 79.6 percent from the free throw line. The New Orleans Pelicans are allowing 36.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 45 rebounds per game.
The Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The Pelicans are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games and 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 home games. The under is 41-20-1 in Mavericks last 62 overall. The under is 8-2-1 in Pelicans last 11 overall. The Mavericks are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in New Orleans and 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
The Dallas Mavericks are playing their best ball of the season, and that includes winning their last five games by an average of 10.4 points. The New Orleans Pelicans are better with CJ in the mix, but they’re still losing games, and they’re not a club I’m confident with them against above average teams. Luka has the Mavs playing well, and they win in the favorite role by an average of 7.7 points. I’ll gladly lay the bucket.