Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets: Both teams are coming off wins

The Denver Nuggets are hosting the Dallas Mavericks today at Ball Arena.

The Mavericks have a long way to go

The Dallas Mavericks are 11th in the Western Conference with an 8-7 record, including 2-4 on the road. They have won the last three games and are coming off a 132-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Mavs are sixth in the league shooting 48.1% from the field and 11th averaging 115.6 points per game. Luka Doncic leads the team averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.

How good are the Nuggets without Jokic?

The Denver Nuggets are 5th in the Western Conference with an 8-5 record, including 3-3 at home. They are coming off a 122-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies that ended their two-game losing streak. The Nuggets are eighth in the league averaging 116.5 points per game and are ranked sixth shooting 38% from the three-point territory. Nikola Jokic leads the team averaging 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 11.7 assists per game.

Betting Trends

The Nuggets are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games overall, 5-1 SU in their last 6 home games against Dallas and 9-4 SU in their last 13 games against teams from the Southwest Division. They are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games played on Friday. Denver has played over the total point line in 9 of their last 11 games overall, their last 5 home games and 5 of their last 7 games against teams from the Western Conference. The Mavericks are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Nuggets, 1-5 SU in their last 6 visits to Denver and 9-3 SU in their last 12 games against teams from the Northwest Division. They are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games played on Friday. Dallas has played over the total point line in 4 of their last 6 games overall, 4 of their last 5 games on the road and 5 of their last 7 road games played on Friday.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks came into the season as two of the favorites to win the West, but things are not going so smoothly so far, especially for the Mavs. They picked up the form, winning the last three games, but are still in the bottom third of the conference. The Nuggets are much better, but as Nikola Jokic is out for personal reasons, the Nuggets are simply not the same team. The three-time MVP will miss this game as well, and Luka Doncic was listed as out and will miss a couple of weeks. The offense of both teams will struggle without their key playmakers so we go with under 227.5 total points.