The San Antonio Spurs left many of their faithful supporters scratching their heads last night after failing to cover the spread as 13-point home favorites in the NBA lines against a second-tier Oklahoma Thunder team that battled the Spurs all the way to overtime. San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich is, however, likely not to care much, as the 102-98 OT win over the Thunder helped the Spurs to snap their three-game losing streak, including the famous home-loss to Golden State earlier in the week. More notably, Tuesday’s win over OKC ensured that the Spurs finished 40-1 at home this season, tying them with the 1985-86 Celtics for best home mark in NBA history during a regular season. Up next for Popovich and his squad is a regular-season finale against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center this Wednesday. Read on below for an NBA betting overview of this matchup that comes with major playoff seeding implications for the home-playing Mavericks.
How to Bet The Spurs @ Mavericks NBA Odds, TV & Game Info
When: Wednesday, April 13, 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV: KENS/ FSSW
NBA Lines: TBA
Why Bet on San Antonio
After riding dry the strength of his banged-up starters until OT yesterday, you can be sure that Popovich won’t be traveling with most of his starters to Dallas. Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker both confirmed after the OKC game that they won’t travel to Dallas, while LaMarcus Aldridge (who left in the third quarter against Oklahoma and never returned) also figures to be out. Added to the injuries of Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw, San Antonio will have a very thin squad to deal with. But then again, the Spurs have one of the strongest benches in the NBA, meaning you shouldn’t write off San Antonio from giving a strong show in this game. After all, San Antonio has owned Dallas this season with three wins in their series, winning by 19-plus points in two of those contests, including the 116-90 victory in their last trip to Dallas.
Why Bet on Dallas
While San Antonio barely has anything to fight for in this game, the Mavericks enter this game fighting to avoid a loss that would make them a No.7 seed in the West, which would in turn pit them against them the Spurs (who are locked for the No. 2 seed) in the first round of the playoffs. This, of course, is not a surprising motivation for Dallas, given the Mavs have lost 14 of their last 16 regular-season meetings against San Antonio, so avoiding the Spurs would be a highly-welcomed idea. Fortunately for Dallas, a win over the banged-up San Antonio team this Wednesday will see the Mavs climb to a much-favorable No. 6 seed, something we believe they are well-capable of doing. I mean, this is a Dallas team that has won 7of its last 8 games, playing some really good defense in that stretch. In addition, Dallas has none of its main players listed with any major injury concerns, meaning the Mavericks will have all their best weapons gunning for the win here.
My San Antonio @ Dallas Expert NBA Predictions and Picks
The Spurs, even if they’ll be coming with their Team B to this game, are capable of stopping anyone, considering the stellar tactical advantage they have in Coach Popovich. Nevertheless, Dallas has too much on the line in this game, and the Spurs have dropped three straight regular-season finales, setting up a perfect stage for the Mavericks to come out on top with a crucial home win.
Final Score Prediction: Dallas 102, San Antonio 97
