Game Time: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 29th, 2021 

Venue:  Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

Where to Watch:  NBA TV

DraftKings:  Spread: NL 

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  NL

Mavericks: 16-17, 7th place Western Conference

Kings: 13-21, 12th place Western Conference

A battle of Western Conference opponents that could have real playoff momentum for the Dallas Mavericks.  Right now the West is so bottled up between 5th place and 9th place that the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks *, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers are all separated by 1 game or a fraction.  Every win counts right now.  A win could find any of them in 5th place. A loss could drop any of them to 9th place depending on the wins and losses of the others.  The Mavericks are 5-5 out of their last ten games.  That won’t get it done.  Over the last few games Dallas star point guard Luka Doncic has sat out with an ankle injury… leaving the team in the hands of Dallas’s second and only other star player PF/C Kristaps Porzingis.  Kristaps balled out on December 27th against the Portland Trail Blazers leading Dallas to a 132-117 win… of course it was the Trail Blazers without Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum… so maybe the win wasn’t big enough?

The Kings are a dumpster fire again.  As this season began the writing was on the wall… They needed to trade Buddy Hield to make room in the crowded backcourt and improve the team by getting back a veteran big man to help Richaun Holmes in the front court… plus it would be nice to move completely under utilized PF Marvin Bagley III before he loses all value.  They failed to do anything of the sort… they drafted yet another guard (Davion Mitchell, he’s perfectly fine), but now they are in an even deeper hole than last year… which is how it always goes for the Kings.  The Kings have won only 3 games out of their last ten.  They beat the Orlando Magic, the San Antonio Spurs and the Washington Wizards (who were greatly depleted by Covid).  They are underdogs against Dallas. They should be underdogs against most everybody.

Matt rolled with the Sixers with his Eastern Conference Game of the Month and he is now on a PERFECT 3-0 NBA run. Fargo is on a POTENT 36-25 NBA Run and is ready for a HUGE 2021-2022 season! He has a MONSTER Top Play Monday with his Revenge Game of the Month as we look for a big December finish! Go get it! Get Matt Fargo’s picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Mavericks are 16-17 on the season and 16-17 ATS.  They have logged 12 Overs, 20 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 8-9 in road games this season.

The Kings are 13-21 on the season, but 14-20 ATS.  They have notched 16 Overs, 17 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are a sinking 7-11 in home games.

The Mavericks are 25th in the NBA in points with 105.6 per game, 23rd in rebounds with 43.6 per game.  The saving grace is the Mavs rank 3rd in AST/TO ratio with 1.9… they need that AST/TO ratio because they are below average at free throws.

 

Our prediction for Wednesday, December 29th is….  Kings 114 - Mavericks 99

The Kings should handle the Mavs easily.  The Mavs are doubled over with the injury bug and Covid absences.  The Kings have their top 9-10 guys for the game… if any of that changes it will be last minute and could happen to either team.  It’s worth it to finally have a Kings game to put money on.

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Sacramento is 5-3 ATS versus Dallas over the last 3 seasons.

5 of the 8 games in this series have gone Under the total.

Dallas: C Willie Cauley Stein (covid)** SF Luka Doncic (ankle) Out ** // Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway JR, and Maxi Kleber are all out with Covid.

Mavs: PF Kristaps Porzingis, SF Dorian Finney-Smith, C Dwight Powell, SG Jalen Brunson, PG Frank Ntilikina

Kings: PF Chimezie Metu, SF Harrison Barnes, C Richaun Holmes, SG Tyrese Haliburton, PG De'Aaron Fox

Mavs

Points: Luka Doncic 25.6

Assists: Luka Doncic 8.5

Rebounds: Luka Doncic 8.0

Steals: Dorian Finney-Smith 1.3

Blocks: Kristaps Porzingis 1.6

Kings

Points: De’Aaron Fox 21

Assists: Tyrese Haliburton 6.4

Rebounds: Richaun Holmes 9.0

Steals: Tyrese Haliburton 1.8

Blocks: Alex Len 1.0

Mavs:  Jason Kidd.  Coach Kidd is a retired NBA legend with the likability of a DC Comics villain.

Kings:  Alvin Gentry.  Coach Gentry is a very experienced NBA coach who thankfully took over for Luke Walton before Luke’s hands fused permanently to his hips.