NBA: Dallas Mavericks vs. Denver Nuggets Preview, Odds, Prediction

Denver Nuggets will face Dallas Mavs in one of the most interesting NBA matches on Saturday night. The two sides had massive ambitions before the season started, but it seems that they underachieved a little bit throughout the campaign. Dallas is on the verge of the playoff zone, while Nuggets sit higher, yet below the top four seeds in the conference, which was the original plan prior to the start of the competition. Two European stars, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic are about to clash, which makes this matchup even more appealing. Luka was the top favorite for the MVP trophy two months ago but slipped as time went by. Jokic, meanwhile, is one of the biggest candidates for taking the honors, along with LeBron and Joel Embiid.

Preview

Dallas Mavericks (19-17, TBA) had four wins in a row before losing to Oklahoma City Thunder 116-108, on Wednesday night. That was the second of back-to-back games Mavs had, with the previous one being a triumph at home to the San Antonio Spurs, 115-104.

Besides traveling, Dallas was handicapped because both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis didn’t appear against Thunder, leaving a massive hole in their roster. There wasn’t anything wrong with them, but simply Rick Carlisle wanted to rest them and avoid any potential problems regarding injuries.

Josh Richardson and Jalen Brunson led the starting lineup with 27 and 26 points, respectively, while, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 24 off the bench. Willie Cauley-Stein was a massive disappointment, scoring no points in 20 minutes of play and shooting only twice from the field. WCS either needs to improve, or the Mavs might move on from him.

Denver Nuggets (22-15, TBA) are red-hot, having five wins in a row and getting back home after last night’s victory in Memphis over the Grizzlies, 103-102. It was a highly intense battle in Tennessee, but the Nuggets managed to get out as the winners, closing the extremely tough schedule that saw them playing on the road eight times in the previous 10 matches.

Jokic scored the final five points for the Nuggets to rebuff Memphis’ attack and show why he is arguably the biggest contender for the MVP honors. The Joker ended the night with 28 points, 15 boards, and seven dimes, being the pivotal figure on the court in the clutch moments.

Will Barton woke up following trade rumors, scoring 21 points, while Michael Porter Jr had the same number of buckets with nine rebounds and 8-for-13 shooting from the floor. MPJ is improving from game to game, and he became a colossal weapon of the Nuggets before the most important part of the year.

Head to Head Games

Mavs and Nuggets played twice this season. Dallas won the first match in Colorado, 124-117, after overtime. The Nuggets got even winning in Dallas, 117-113.

Prediction

Denver is the slight favorite, -2.5 points, and in the current situation, even though they played last night, we are going with their win. The Nuggets improved the form dramatically, demonstrating that with big wins in Milwaukee, Indiana, against the Lakers as well. The situation in Dallas is still unknown when it comes to injured players, but it seems that Porzingis won’t play, which is another factor that favors Denver.

Pick: Denver -2.5