Mavericks At Hornets Preview: A Bettors Perspective
Jan 21st, 2012 by PJ LaFerla
Betting Line:
Dallas Mavericks (-5.5)
New Orleans Hornets (+5.5)
Over/Under 174.5
Game Time 8:05 EST
Well, the inevitable finally happened as I suffered my first loss (last night) since I started writing this column for basketball-betting.com nearly three weeks ago. I hope you all enjoyed and took advantage of my over-extended winning streak and are set to ride me on a new one starting tonight with this David versus Goliath matchup.
GAME ANALYSIS:
The Dallas Mavericks (9-7) are playing in their final game of a four game road trip that seen them suffer two painful losses against both Los Angeles teams and nearly blowing a double-digit lead against Utah; only to pull it out at the end and come away with a victory. Oddly, then come into this matchup against the Hornets losing eleven straight games in New Orleans. In fact the last road win for the Mavericks in this series came when the franchise was playing in Oklahoma City. The Mavericks faced the Hornets once already (January 7th) handling them with ease as six of their players scored in double digits for a 96-81 blowout win, but let’s not forget that game was played in Dallas.
The Hornets (3-12) are coming into this game against the defending NBA champions in the midst of a six game losing streak – with no light at the end of the tunnel, having to face the Spurs, Thunder, Magic, Hawks and Heat (all teams with winning records) immediately after facing the Mavericks tonight. The news gets worse for the Hornets – they are still trying to deal with the loss of their superstar point guard, Chris Paul (via trade) and continue to play without his replacement as Eric Gordon is still on the shelf with a bad knee. If you think it can’t get worse for the Hornets, how about this? The Hornets have one of the lowest three pointers made percentage in the league at 27.5 percent.
WHO TO BET ON?
Despite being only two games above the .500 mark, the Mavericks are dominating the against the spread numbers with an 11-5 record through their first sixteen games this season. They are scoring 93 points per game and only giving up a stingy 88.8 points per game. On the other side, the Hornets are struggling to crack 90 points per game on the offensive end and give up about 92 points per game on the defensive side of the ball. They do however own a much better against the spread record at 6-9 compared to their overall won/loss record. Yes, the Mavericks have struggled mightily in New Orleans, but these are clearly two teams going in two different directions. Look for the Mavericks to finally get off the schneid tonight with an easy cover and blowout victory over the Hornets.
Make your play on the Dallas Mavericks to cover the point spread!
SOME OTHER INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THIS GAME:
~ The Mavericks are 6-2 straight up in their last 8 games.
~ The Mavericks 1-5 against the spread in its last 6 games when playing on the road against the Hornets.
~ The Hornets are 0-5 straight up in its last 5 games.
~ The Hornets are 0-5 against the spread in their last 5 games at home.
~ The total has gone OVER in 5 of the last 7 games in this matchup.
PREDICTION:
Mavericks 97, Hornets 85
PJ Laferla is a practicing freelance writer, professional handicapper, and the founder of SportsInput.com. If you are interested in hiring PJ Laferla for freelance writing or for winning picks against the spread, please submit all inquires to PJ@sportsinput.com.