Jazz vs. Mavericks NBA Picks and Predictions for Monday’s Playoff Preview (Archive)
The Utah Jazz are in the midst of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights is Monday as they head into Dallas to play the Mavericks. Can we expect Utah to put up a good fight, or will Dallas roll through the more tired team? Keep reading as I’ll break down the NBA odds and share a winning pick!
Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks
Monday, March 07, 2022 – 8:30 PM EST at American Airlines Center
Dallas Guard Depth
When Dallas brought in Spencer Dinwiddie at the deadline, it was seen by some as an insurance policy. Jalen Brunson, who is going to demand a huge payday this offseason, whether from the Mavs or someone else, has been playing out of his mind this season and has been the main reason outside of Luka Doncic that the team is playing so well.
Brunson has excelled this season under Jason Kidd, so there is probably a desire to stay, as long as the price is right. However, for tonight, Brunson is dealing with a foot contusion and is officially listed as questionable against the Jazz.
Being without Brunson won’t be a death blow to the Mavs chances here. Having Dinwiddie as another playmaker alongside Doncic makes his potential absence less of a factor. That being said, if Brunson does play tonight, the Mavs are slightly undervalued here as small home favorites.
As mentioned in the opening, the Jazz are coming in really tired and while traveling from Oklahoma City to Dallas is a shorter commute than most people have in their car going to and from work every day, the Jazz still had to play a tough one last night. Utah’s defense has started to wither some over the last several weeks too. This season when playing on no rest, their struggles have been pretty evident as well.
The Sharp Pick
Over their last five games, the Jazz are allowing 118.7 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 26th among all NBA teams over their last five respective games. Furthermore, their performances on no rest lately have been suspect, and playing their third game in four nights will only further hurt their already shaky defense.
Join Now: $1,000 BMR 12-Week All Sports Challenge
Utah has been pretty lucky lately with their schedule. They haven’t played a game on no rest since January 24, but over the course of 2022, their last four games played on no rest have all been ugly. Utah has lost all four of their last four games played on no rest and their defense has allowed 115 or more points in three of those four games. The lone game they played well on defense was a loss to the Lakers on no rest where they only mustered up 95 points on offense.
Needless to say, as long as Brunson plays in this game, I expect the Jazz to falter here again on no rest for my NBA picks. Utah has not won a game on no rest since December 9 and I don’t expect them to fix that tonight on the road against a very tough opponent.
NBA Pick: Mavs -1 (-115) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.