Update: Kuminga and Wiggins have both been ruled out, while Payton II is in. I do think this is a pick ‘em with Doncic out, even though the Mavs are slight 1.5-point favorites. Wiggins being out along with Kuminga does hurt Golden State’s depth, but I still like the Warriors in this spot at +1.5. And I still like the over on the total.
Update: Doncic is now doubtful and the spread has shrunk considerably. The Mavericks are now 2-point favorites and the total comes in at 222. The Warriors have much better against the number on the road, so I think they are worth backing now that Doncic won’t be suiting up. However, the over is still the move with plenty of scoring available for both teams even with the Mavericks star guard likely sitting this one.
Update: Doncic and Maxi Kleber are questionable for Dallas. Lively, Green and Brown are out. Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II are questionable for Golden State while Dario Saric is out. The lines haven’t shifted much in this game and we’ll wait on final statuses before giving out updated picks.
The Golden State Warriors take on the Dallas Mavericks in a Western Conference matchup on Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET, and the game will take place at American Airlines Center. The Mavericks (46-30) sit at fifth place in Western Conference standings heading into the Friday matchup, and the Warriors (42-34) are in 10th place.
The Mavericks will potentially be playing without Josh Green (ankle), Dereck Lively (leg), and Greg Brown (personal). Jonathan Kuminga (knee) likely remains out for the Warriors. Both teams are on a back-to-back set, so we won’t have an official injury report until later in the day.
The Mavericks enter as 5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the total is set at 225.5. Dallas is -198 on the moneyline while Golden State is +164.
Warriors vs. Mavericks, 8:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Mavericks -5
The Mavericks fell to the Warriors on the road on Tuesday in a four-point game, and they can bounce back at home to grab a solid win. The Mavs have won eight of their last nine games with the Warriors road loss the sole outlier there, and are 5-1 against the spread in their last six. The two teams are evenly matched on offense, each averaging around 118 points per game, and on defense, each allowing around 115 points per game. This should be another close one, but I think Luka Doncic and the Mavericks pull away at home to cover.
Over/Under: Over 225.5
The two teams’ most recent matchup ended with a surprisingly low 104-100 final score. For the sixth and seventh highest scoring offenses in the NBA, the under hit by a mile. With so much on the line for both of these teams as the Warriors attempt to keep their spot in the play-in and the Mavericks attempt to avoid the play-in, I think we’ll see a much higher-scoring matchup in Dallas.
