NBA: Dallas Mavericks VS Los Angeles Clippers Pick and Predictions 01/10/2023

Game: 9:10 PM ET,  Tuesday, January 10th, 2023

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

TV:  NBA League Pass

Mavericks: 23-18, 4th Place Western Conference

Clippers: 21-21 7th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Clippers -1.5, O/U 221.5 

PointsBet: Point Spread: Clippers -1.5, O/U 221.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Clippers -1, O/U 221.5

Mavericks: SF Reggie Bullock, PF Christian Wood, C Dwight Powell, SG Tim Hardaway JR, PG Spencer Dinwiddie

Clippers: PF Marcus Morris SR, SF Nicholas Batum, C Ivica Zubac, SG Kawhi Leonard, PG Terance Mann

 

A Western Conference battle between 4th and 7th place.  The Dallas Mavericks have clearly one of the best basketball players on the planet in PG Luka Doncic.  Luka is an unstoppable force.  He scores, rebounds, and makes assists at a high level all the time…. And he does it all at his own pace.  Fans will often remark “why don’t they double team him?”... He often is… It does not matter.  Luka, like the Joker or Giannis,… is not only the focal point of his team, but he controls so much of the game we often have a hard time figuring out if his teammates are any good players or not.  The Mavs are not the cream of the West… but if Luka had one teammate who broke out and became a true Robin to his Batman… They would be.  The Los Angeles Clippers switch back and forth between one of the best teams in the league and one of the worst.  They seem to make the switch every couple of games or so… That is because the team has 3 very big time scorers in Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Norman Powell… and over the last 18 months the trio has played together less times than there are fingers on my hands.  Mostly Kawhi, but all three stars go on and off the injury list… or are given rest because the team does not wish to aggravate their ongoing problems any further.  The team that is left is actually made up of really talented NBA role players… When these role players go without the trio for long stretches they get into a rhythm and become a hard to beat middle of the road NBA team on their own… But all the back and forth leads to an equal amount of winning and losing as no part of the team is able to ever get in a rhythm.

 

The Dallas Mavericks have won 8 of their last 10 games.  They lost their last outing however 120-109 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that loss PG Luka Doncic did not play because of ankle soreness and will be listed as Questionable for this game.  Not having Luka is a very big deal for the Mavericks since he either scores or assists on 70% of all Mavericks points when he is on the floor. In the loss PF/C Christian Wood poured in 27 points, 16 rebounds, and 2 assists but only went 1-5 from beyond the arc.  Christian is beginning to look like the team's second best player after being worked into the rotation very slowly by head coach Jason Kidd.  Outsiders believe it may be because the team is showcasing hom for a trade to get Luka someone else… but while he is producing… they might as well get it to him.  PG Spencer Dinwiddie had 21 points and 8 assists while trying to fill Luka’s very big shoes.  Really wild outsiders have floated the idea of trading Luke (never, but a strong idea)... Luka would bring multiple players and many many picks as part of a 3-team swap.  It could be a spectacularly smart or dumb idea?... That is why it won’t happen.

 

The Los Angeles Clippers are barely clinging to that 7th spot in the West as they are mired in a pathetic 6 game losing streak.  There is no problem with taking a loss to Boston or Denver.. Lots of teams do… but to Indiana, Minnesota, Miami, and Atlanta?!!  Wow the Clippers have played horrendous ball!  They are also on a 5-game loss ATS streak!  In losing to Atlanta 112-108 the Clippers got 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists from Kawhi Leonard… but he shot a horrible 9-23 from the field… 17 from Zubac, 15 from Morris, 14 from Mann, and 14 from Powell.  The team’s best player SG/SF Paul George missed the game with hamstring issues and will miss this one against the Mavs as well.  The Clippers are at the precipice of a big decision… Do they carry on with this unreliable group… or try to trade George and Powell on the open market?... Kawhi is untradeable because of his health issues that have held him out entire seasons and will hold him out many more games per year as long as his career lasts.  Kawhi’s knee issue is degenerative.  The other idea would be to trade a slew of their very reliable role players in a big deal for 1 MORE STAR… Maybe they could catch lightning in a bottle and find all-star health at the same time as the postseason.  

 

 

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Dal: 23-18, 14-25-2 ATS, 24-17 O/U, 7-12 on the road.

LAC: 21-21, 20-22 ATS, 17-25 O/U, 11-9 in home games.

Our prediction for Tuesday, January 10th is…. Clippers 111 - Mavericks 101

Bet on the Clippers.  The Mavs are leaning toward resting Luka again just to make sure.  In that case the Clippers will beat the Mavs easily… especially with Zubac playing defense on Christian Wood and Dwight Powell.  IF LUKA PLAYS… The Clippers still have a good shot as Norman Powell will get more time to try to offset Luka’s scoring.

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Dallas is 5-2 ATS versus the Clippers in Los Angeles the last 3 seasons.

Dallas is 33-17 ATS off a road loss the last 3 seasons.

The Clippers are 36-19 ATS in a home game where the total is 220 or higher the last 3 seasons.

Mavericks:  PF Christian Wood.  The Mavs traded for Chritian and got a good player… but they held him back for a reason that is unclear.  Maybe they do not like his attitude or level of teamwork?... We do not know entirely.  But now they are throwing lots of minutes at him and he is producing.  Do they want to swap him soon… or do they want to make him the #2 to Luka… Those are really the Mavs only choices with a player like this.

Clippers:  SF/SG Kawhi Leonard.  Kawhi gets big numbers… but needs to watch his efficiency. After spending so many months and weeks and days on the injury list… He doesn’t quite have the defensive pop that used to make him special enough to be a 2X Finals MVP with two different teams.  Will he get it all back?

Mavs:  Jason “Supervillian” Kidd

Clippers: Tye “when does it start?” Lue