Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 12/1/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

Where to watch: BSDET, BSSW-DAL

DraftKings: Mavs -7.5

FanDuel: Mavs -7.5

BetMGM: Mavs -7.5

Caesars: Mavs -7.5

Mavs: 10-10

Pistons: 5-18

Mavs: won 116-113 vs. Warriors on Tuesday

Pistons: lost 140-110 vs. Knicks on Thursday

Just when I thought the Dallas Mavericks were going to completely shut me up for the rest of the year, they go out and win another game. I thought they were literally going to have me watch another collapse to the hands of the Golden State Warriors and put the reminder in my brain that they are not on the same level as the defending NBA champions. But then Luka Doncic goes out and does THAT. 41 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists, and a 116-113 victory over Golden State to end Dallas’ four-game losing streak. And now with the only game on the docket on Thursday, Dallas will try to win a second game in a row when it hits the road to take on the injured and banged-up Detroit Pistons.

It was truly a remarkable win for Dallas. A lot of things were going wrong. Christian wood was shooting horrendously, defensively there were times Dallas look lost. There were other times that The Mavericks just had no rhythm in the offensive sets in the half-court. But when all else failed, Doncic was the man once again. He shot better than 50% from the field, he didn't turn the ball over, and his teammates made shots. That's all you need to ask for as it pertains to this man. If you do your job as a role player, you will win many games.

Not to mention, Dallas had to play the last nine or so minutes without Spencer Dinwiddie because of his elbow to the face of Jordan Poole that sent him to the locker rooms early after being injected with a flagrant 2 foul. So, your second-best ball handler is now in the locker room and you're pretty much down to your MVP and no one else. But if there's anything we can take away from that win is that when times call forward, Luka can still get the job done and do it to it and rate that is still shocking and incredible every time.

Tim Hardaway had one of his best games of the year by scoring 22 points on 8 of 16 shooting while making five 3-pointers. And we also cannot overlook the impact that Josh green has had by coming off the bench with five of seven shooting in 13 points in 27 minutes. He was a - 9 but in reality, who cares?

The Mavericks were really impressive the other night and I know they gave up 113 points and it seems like not the best timing for all of that, but the fact that they were able to get a win at home and knock off the defending champions I think speaks volumes for where this team is trying to go. Now there are things of course that they need to clean up. For one thing, they shouldn't be going 15 of 44 from the three-point line. They also can't afford to miss 10 free throws out of 27 attempts. These are little things that they are going to need to clean up in order to get a much better outcome going forward. They limited the turnovers to 13, which is good, but to put up 116 points and to miss 29 threes there's a case that can be made that Dallas could have easily won by much more.

Detroit, meanwhile, has lost three in a row after winning back-to-back games at Denver and at Utah. They nearly won at phoenix which would have completed the tremendous road trip on a positive note, but losses to the sons, Cleveland and New York have set the Pistons back just a little bit. They are still without Cade Cunningham, who is out indefinitely with a leg injury, and first-round pick this year Jaden Ivy will not be playing due to injury as well. So normally I would say Dallas has a distinct advantage here, but the Mavs have also made it a priority this year to not play up to their competition when they are losing or down star players. Between Denver, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Dallas has not been able to win games that they should win. This is one of those games where they absolutely need to win or else risk the chance of being laughed at for the next 24 to 48 hours.

I have learned my lesson, and I will take Dallas and this one only because they are heavily favored and they should win this game rather convincingly. If not, then I have no idea what in the world to do with this team. Mavs by 15

Mavs are 600-499 ATS on the road since 1996.

Mavs are 136-102 ATS on the road after losing 4 or 5 of 6 since 1996.

Mavs are 3-12 ATS as a favorite this season.

PG: Luka Doncic

SG: Spencer Dinwiddie

SF: Tim Hardaway Jr.

PF: Dorian Finney-Smith

C: Dwight Powell

PG: Killian Hayes

SG: Alec Burks

SF: Bojan Bogdanovic

PF: Isaiah Stewart

C: Marvin Bagley III