Golden State at Dallas Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

Posted by Kenny Bell on Monday,March 20, 2017 11:28, EDT in

The Golden State Warriors need every win they can get the rest of the season to try and hold off the San Antonio Spurs for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Warriors could be on upset alert Tuesday in Dallas, however, as they will be playing their second game in 24 hours. Will coach Steve Kerr rest anyone? That would affect the NBA lines.

Golden State at Dallas Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Tuesday, March 21, 8:30 PM ET
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: NBA League Pass
Stream: NBA.tv
Radio: Golden State / Dallas
NBA Odds: Warriors favored by TBA

Why Bet on Golden State?

The Warriors entered Monday’s game in Oklahoma City having won three straight, all at home. It was 117-92 over Milwaukee on Saturday. Stephen Curry scored 28 points with six 3-pointers, Draymond Green added eight points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, and Klay Thompson scored 21 points to help Warriors complete a season sweep of the Bucks. Golden State improved to an NBA-best 55-14 with its second straight win by 25 points or more.

The Warriors remain without Kevin Durant and have been inconsistent without him, but he has started shooting so perhaps he’s back by next week. It sounds like at worst he will return before the end of the regular season. Durant’s knee rehab has progressed to the point that he asked and was granted permission to travel with the team on the upcoming road trip.

The Warriors have shot over 57 percent from the field in each of the last 2 games. The last time the Warriors had such a streak was during the 1991-92 season when they had 3 straight games in which they shot 60 percent or better from the field.

Golden State is ranked 1st in offensive rating (112.9) and is 2 nd in defensive rating (101.3), behind the Spurs (101.0) according to NBA.com/stats. The Warriors have a league-best net rating of 11.6, the next team, the Spurs, have a 8.6 net rating. The Warriors have dished out 30 or more assists 42 times this season and are 41-1 in those games. No other team has more than 14 30-assist games this season (Denver). Golden State has recorded 16 35-assist games this season (rest of the NBA has a combined 20)

Why Bet on Dallas?

The Mavericks are trying to catch Denver for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Mavs are three games behind the Nuggets so it’s not looking likely. Dallas completed a four-game road trip at 2-2 on Sunday with a 111-104 win in Brooklyn.

The Mavericks led 94-92 with more than five minutes left before J.J. Barea scored nine straight Dallas points. He finished with 20. Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and nine rebounds. Nerlens Noel did not score with four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 21 minutes against the Nets. The pace was not his friend in this game and Noel was in foul trouble. Seth Curry scored eight points with one rebound, one assist and one turnover in 31 minutes. He’s slumping as Curry has averaged just 8.4 points, 1.6 boards, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.0 treys on just 35.9 percent from the field over his past five.

The Mavericks are averaging 11.9 turnovers per game this season – the third-fewest in the NBA. Dallas averaged 12.8 turnovers per game in 2015-16 – the second-fewest in the league last year. The Mavericks are 6-0 this season when they hold their opponent under 40 percent shooting and 4-1 this year when they hold their opponent to 80-or- fewer points.

The Warriors have won five straight and 12 of the last 13 regular-season meetings with the Mavericks. Golden State leads the 2016-17 season series, 2-0 (Golden State defended homecourt in each of the first two matchups). The Warriors have now taken nine straight and 11 of the last 12 regular-season showdowns in Oakland. The Mavericks have won 11 of the last 17 regular-season showdowns in Dallas (but the Warriors took the most recent matchup at American Airlines Center 130-112 on 3/18/16).

Dallas was one of only nine teams to defeat Golden State in 2015-16 (the Mavericks beat the Warriors 114-91 at American Airlines Center on 12/30/15).

Golden State at Dallas Free Pick: Dallas Mavericks

The Warriors are likely to be pushed a bit Monday night and will be giving too many points here. Dallas can cover.