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The Dallas Mavericks likely will again be without superstar Luka Doncic on Monday night as they look to avoid a 0-2 hole against the Utah Jazz in their Western Conference playoff series. The Jazz are favored on the NBA odds.

How to Bet Utah at Dallas NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Monday, 8:30 PM ET
Where: American Airlines Center
TV: NBA TV
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Jazz -5.5 (total 205)

Why Bet on Utah?

The Jazz took Game 1 of this series 99-93 on Saturday. Donovan Mitchell had 32 points, six rebounds and six steals. Mitchell had a lousy first half in which he scored just two points on 1-of-9 shooting, and he didn’t even get his first basket until around the five-minute mark in the second quarter. However, he completely flipped the script in the third quarter as he scored 19 points in that frame alone to help get the Jazz a lead, which was ultimately enough to get them the first victory of the series. Mitchell has been stellar in the postseason with 32.3 and 36.3 points per game in his last two playoff appearances.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting with five rebounds and four assists. He scored 20 of his points in the first half of action but quieted down after that, which was mostly due to Mitchell scoring 19 in the third quarter. Rudy Gobert attempted just one shot and missed it but still hauled in 17 boards with three swats in his 35 minutes.

“Not to diminish the importance of plays and execution, but I think our group, one, we continued to attack,” head coach Quin Snyder said postgame. “If we continue to just consistently play throughout the course of the game to put the group ahead of any individual contribution, that formulaically for us is something that is really important.”

Gobert is one of three finalists for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, cementing Utah’s center as one of the greatest defensive players of all-time. Other finalists include Phoenix wing Mikal Bridges and Boston guard Marcus Smart. Gobert is one of the three finalists for the sixth consecutive season, having won the award in three of the past four years. Gobert is the only player in the game who can defend the rim and the perimeter simultaneously, thanks in large part to size and athleticism. He affects the game defensively more than any player in the league.

Royce O’Neale was 0-for-4 (0-for-2 from deep) through 45 minutes of action, again passing up some open shots. But when the Jazz needed him most and needed him to hit a big-time shot, O’Neale looked very much like that elite shooter he was for most of the season. Leading by one, and after a Dallas three-pointer, O’Neale hit a step-back three-pointer off the dribble to give Utah a four-point lead with less than a minute to play.

Why Bet on Dallas?

The Mavericks played without superstar Luka Doncic in Game 1 due to a strained calf and he’s not likely to play in this one, either. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Doncic will have to make a “dramatic improvement” in order to be cleared. Doncic did light shooting for the second consecutive day on Sunday, a sign of progress in his recovery from a strained left calf, but he was listed as doubtful for Game 2 on the official injury report. Dallas is 8-10 without Doncic this season, including the Game 1 loss to the Jazz.

“If he can’t play, we have to go forward,” Kidd said. “We showed that already in Game 1. If it happens in Game 2, then that’s the way we have to go. That’s just the way sport can be sometimes. Injuries come at the wrong time. Luka’s injury came at the wrong time, but we can’t cry over spilled milk. We’re all professionals and we understand what the situation is. If he can go, that doesn’t automatically mean we’re going to win games, but we feel better if he is on the floor. Hopefully, he can get on the floor soon.”

After dropping Game 1, a 2-0 series deficit could be a death sentence for Dallas. In NBA postseason history (including five-game series, which were removed in 2003), only 7.1 percent of teams have come back to win after being down 2-0 in a series.

Jalen Brunson shot just 9-of-24 from the field in Saturday’s Game 1 loss to the Jazz, scoring 24 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists. Brunson led the team in rebounding but Dallas as a team got out-rebounded 53-34 which absolutely contributed to the losing effort. In 17 prior games without Doncic in the regular season, Brunson was fantastic with averages of 20.4 points, 7.5 assists and 3.90 rebounds.

Spencer Dinwiddie started Saturday’s game in place of Doncic and had 22 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Dinwiddie accounted for more than half of Dallas’ seven turnovers. The Mavericks were near the bottom of the league in assists all year, but were even worse Saturday in coming up with just 17 for the game.

Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside combined for 25 rebounds as Utah’s tag-team centers. One of them was in the game every second of Game 1 and while they were not a factor in the scoring department, they had four blocked shots in addition to the rebounding, which included five between them on the offensive end. The Jazz’s 20-7 advantage in second-chance points was a major point of emphasis.

“We have to keep tussling with their big guys they got down there – Whiteside and Gobert. They’re overly tall,” said Reggie Bullock. “So we have to try to keep them out of the paint and get the loose balls.”

Getting more offense out of the bench is needed. The Mavs just 14 bench points in Game 1, 10 of them from Maxi Kleber, who had not played in the final four games of the regular season with an ankle issue. Coach Jason Kidd shortened the rotation to eight players in Game 1 and it appears unlikely that will grow much until Luka’s return. Dwight Powell had averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in the last 11 games of the season as the pick-and-roll with Luka worked wonders. In Game 1, he had just four points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.