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San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks: A season opener between the state rivals
The Dallas Mavericks are hosting the San Antonio Spurs today at America Airlines Center in the home opener of the 2024-25 season.
How good is Wemby?
The San Antonio Spurs finished last season at 14th place in the Western Conference. Victor Wembanyama won the Rookie of the Year award and it was all about his development and adaptation to the NBA. Now Gregg Popovich has added veteran point guard Chris Paul who can make things easier for the young Frenchman. The Spurs will be better than last season but still too far from the playoffs.
Is this the season for the Mavs?
The Dallas Mavericks went all the way to the NBA Finals last season but failed short against the Boston Celtics. That is still a huge success for Luka Doncic and his teammates as they were back in the finals fo the first time since 2011 when they won the only championship in franchise history. The Mavs added Klay Thompson whose experience and shooting will make the Mavs a better team.
Betting Trends
The Mavericks are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games overall, 5-1 SU in their last 6 games against the Spurs, and 6-1 SU in their last 7 games against teams from the Western Conference. They are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against teams from the Southwest Division and 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games played on Thursday. The Spurs are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games overall, and 1-5 SU in their last 6 games played in Dallas. They are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games against Dallas, 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games on the road and 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games against teams from the Western Conference. San Antonio has played over the total point line in 5 of their last 7 games played in October.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Dallas Mavericks came one step away from winning the championship last season and are ready to get back to the finals this year as well. Luka Doncic is taking his game to another level every single year, and he clicked well with Kyrie Irving by his side. In the offseason, the Mavs added Klay Thompson, who may be the piece they missed. On the other hand, the Spurs added another player who was on the Warriors last season: Chris Paul. His job is to give the ball to Victor Wembanyama, who is expected to become an All-Star this season. This will be a great opener for the teams from Texas, and we expect a lot of made shots that will take the game over 229.5 total points.