After the Dallas Mavericks decided they would never work with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, and it would have been better if Doncic did everything, they improved.
Porzingis and Doncic looked great on paper together, but they just didn’t match. Porzingis was injured again, he was exchanged and the Mavericks seem to be better than that. Porzingis’ last game with the Mavs was on January 29, and after losing two in a row as soon as he was injured, they went 8-2. In one of those losses, they covered the spread, which means they’re 9-1 against the spread (or 8-1-1 if you didn’t get the best number against the Lakers on Tuesday when Dallas won 5) in their last 10 , all without Porzingis. Porzingis has not yet debuted in the Washington Wizards due to a bruised knee.
Mavericks get a good test on Thursday. They are outsiders with 1.5 points in BetMGM against the Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks won the Golden State on Sunday, a sign that the post-Porzingis era may be right.
Doncic is doing everything right. He has matches of 51, 45 and 49 points during the Mavericks hot series. He has averaged 33.2 points in his last 10 games in Dallas. He has reached double-digit fights six times and four-digit assists four times. It’s been amazing lately. Spencer Dinuidi and Davis Bertans, both acquired by Washington in the deal with Porzingis, were good players around Doncic’s greatness.
Doncic is one of the greatest talents in the NBA. The Mavericks have not yet figured out the perfect fit around him. Porzingis was not that. Now that the Mavericks have sent him away, Dallas looks dangerous. They beat the Warriors a few days ago and there is no reason not to do it again.
Luka Doncic has been in tears lately. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
Here’s a first look at Thursday’s sports betting list:
What else is in the NBA?
There are seven games. The Miami Heat (who performed with coverage after being the best bet here yesterday) are in the Brooklyn Nets and are preferred by 3.5. It’s hard to take them after such a tough loss to Bucks on Wednesday night, but it’s also not convenient to take a Nets team with short arms.
The story continues
The Lakers and the Clippers end the night against each other. The Clippers are favorites with 2.5 points and making the Clippers favorites for this game means that the odds have also been dropped by the Lakers. The Lakers were favorites for 3 points in the same game on February 25. Of course, they lost to the Clippers.
Are there any basketball games in college?
We will finally see some top seeds in a conference tournament when the NEC quarterfinals begin. The semifinals are on Saturday, and the championship match is on Tuesday.
As for the top 25, there are no phenomenal games. Several games in the Big Ten stand out (Ohio with 6.5 points against Michigan and Michigan with 1.5 points against Iowa), but we’ll have to wait until Saturday for a great schedule for college. Don’t worry, there are many phenomenal college hoops coming up for the rest of the month.
Is there golf this week?
Arnold Palmer International’s PGA begins. It will include most of the game’s biggest names and Pamela Maldonado of Yahoo Sportsbook has your choice to bet on.
What is the best bet?
I’m going to Michigan. Ohio has hit a wall recently, including a terrible loss at home to Nebraska last weekend. Michigan was also funk, but I think that’s too many points for the Spartans.