Game Time: 6:00 PM ET, Friday, December 31st, 2021 

Venue:  Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: NL 

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  NL

Mavericks: 16-18, 8th place Western Conference

Kings: 15-21, 11th place Western Conference

A slate of games for New year’s Eve!  The slate is accompanied by the NBA relaxing the Covid protocols a bit to allow for players to return from quarantine sooner.  2022 will be a fun year for NBA action… previously bad teams have ascended to good teams. The Chicago Bulls, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Cleveland Cavaliers, a resurging Golden State Warriors… heck even the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks opened the season as if they were going to be good!  A new generation of young all-star players are beginning to take over the league… The Phoenix Suns went from perennial lottery picks to Perennial powerhouse in the span of 2 seasons… all they needed was the guidance of a savvy veteran: PG Chris Paul.  The league looks different than it has in a while.  LeBron’s team is losing, Damian Lillard’s team has sunk to the bottom of the scrum and he WILL be on the move, the Raptors may have the most versatile quality rookie in the league bugt will have to rebuild, and the Celtics are done teasing us and have resigned to simply be a bad team again.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Let’s make that money!

The Dallas Mavericks just lost to the Sacramento Kings in an absolute heartbreaker 95-94.  They also failed to cover the spread (the game was a pick em’, but still).  Now they have to turn around, fly to Sacramento,  and play the Kings again!  Either quick revenge or the Kings get to twist the knife?... The Mavericks have been laboring through the season as of late.  All-Star, top-five player in the league, Point Guard Luka Doncic twisted an ankle and is sidelined for awhile.  People also began to notice that Luka, while talente, is carrying a little more weight than last year and seems to get winded a tad bit more.  He is still the Mavericks best player and best bet for years to come… still with his staggering usage rate (he leads the team in points, assists, rebounds, and minutes)... he should have shed those pounds through the simple act of playing.  The Mavs other star Kristaps Porzingis is having a bit of a resurgence this season while Luka is missing games… With these two stars together the Mavs should win more often… the problem is every other Mavs player is better suited to be an NBA bench player than any of the other 3 starting spots.  The Mavs will have to get super creative to find a real option #3 and #4… Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell can handle the Center position, but it is imperative they improve at SG and SF!  They have only won 4 of their last 10 games with embarrassing losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers (and Kings) wedged in there. 

The Sacramento Kings pulled one out against the Dallas Mavericks and now must face them again.  If there is one best way to describe the Kings this season it is “inconsistent”... If there is a best way to describe them over the last 15 seasons it is “dumpster fire”.  They seem to be in a very precarious position at the moment… they have the pieces to be good!  They just aren’t putting it together..  A starting five of PG De'Aaron Fox, SG Tyrese Haliburton, SF Harrison Barnes, C Richaun Holmes, and even disappointing PF Marvin Bagley III should be a good team… especially with SG Buddy Hield and PG Davion Mitchell ready to spell the backcourt.  It feels like all this team needs is leadership?... They fired Head Coach Luke Walton this year months after everyone on the planet got tired of his shoulder shrugs and sleepy-eyed demeanor and replaced him with then lead assistant, veteran NBA head coach, Alvin Gentry.  Yet that didn’t address anything… the truth is the leadership vacuum in Sacramento is found in either the GM spot or the owner tying the GM’s arm.  Someone at the top of the totem pole simply doesn’t have the ability to properly build a team… as exemplified by the extreme draft misses and trades not made and players simply walking away to play better elsewhere.  The Kings have also won only 4 games out of their last ten.  They don’t beat quality teams.. The victims have been other cellar-dwellers like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Washington Wizards without SG Bradley Beal… to be in that company should worry the Dallas Mavericks… to be in that company twice should absolutely petrify the Mavs.

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The Mavericks are 16-18 on the season and 16-18 ATS.  They have logged 12 Overs, 21 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 8-10 in road games.

The Kings are 15-21 on the season, but 16-20 ATS.  They have notched 17 Overs, 18 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 9-11 in home games.

The Mavs are 25th in points with 105.3 per game, 25th in rebounds with 43.4 per game, and 3rd in AST/TO ratio with 1.9.  They are really struggling to shoot from the field, they are 22nd in FG%, 26th in 3PT%, and 21st in FT%... it does not bode well to be below league average in all three categories of shooting AND rebounding.

The Kings are 12th in points with 109.7 per game, 17th in rebounds with 44.6 per game, and 25th in AST/TO ratio with 1.5.  They are 18th in FG%, 22nd in 3PT%, and 23rd in FT%... the backbreaker for Sacramento is they are 28th in defense allowing 113.8 ppg form the opposition.  You can’t win a lot with numbers like that… but you can occasionally beat the Mavs.

 

Our prediction for Friday, December 31st is….  Kings 108 - Mavs 99

The Mavs are missing too many players at the moment.  Last game was close, but it should have given the Kings the confidence to walk away with this one especially since Reggie Bullock, Brandon Knight,  and Boban Marjanovic joined the Covid list and won’t be in this one.

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Sacramento is 2-1 ATS versus Dallas at Sacramento over the last 3 seasons.

2 of 3 games in this series at Sacramento have gone Under.

Sacramento is 6-3 ATS versus Dallas over the last 3 seasons.

Mavs:  SG Raggie Bullock (covid) Out, C Boban Marjanovic (covid) Out, PG Luka Doncic (covid) Out

Kings: C Neemias Queta (Covid) Out… rookie 2nd round pick is a development project that hardly plays.

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

Kings: PF Marvin Bagley III, SF Harrison Barnes, C Richaun Holmes, SG Tyrese Haliburton, PG De’Aaron Fox

Mavericks

Points: Luka Doncic 25.6

Assists: Luka Doncic 8.5

Rebounds: Luka Doncic 8.0

Steals: Dorian Finney-Smith 1.3

Blocks: Kristaps Porzingis 1.7

Kings

Points: De’Aaron Fox 20.5

Assists: Tyrese Haliburton 6.6

Rebounds: Richaun Holmes 8.8

Steals: Tyrese Haliburton 1.8

Blocks: Alex Len 1.0

Mavs:  Jason Kidd.  Coach Kidd was brought in to relate to Luka Doncic… now Luka is overweight and missing games.  Did it work?

Kings: Alvin Gentry.  Coach Gentry is a gentleman.