Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/6/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

Where to watch: Bally Sports Southwest-Dallas, Bally Sports Detroit

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Mavs: 49-30

Pistons: 23-56

When it comes to the NBA, few things are absolutes. We can look at the Phoenix Suns for sure being the best team in the NBA right now and call that fact. We can even look at any plausible argument for Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid to be the MVP of the league this season.

One absolute that we can 100 percent not identify nor come to grips with is what in the world happens in the Western Conference outside of the Suns. We know they have the No. 1 seed locked up and the path to the NBA Finals will go through the desert. But what about the teams that are going to challenge the Suns?

And surprisingly enough, the more and more I look at the Western Conference playoff picture, the more I keep coming back to the Dallas Mavericks possibly being the sleeper of the top eight. And I know that might be crazy to think considering the likes of Memphis, Golden State and even Denver could pose as bigger challenges to Phoenix than Dallas, but is anyone going to bet against Luka Doncic right now?

Not to mention we will evaluate this in due course come Wednesday when the Mavs take on the Detroit Pistons in Little Caesars Arena for their final road game of the season. Dallas is currently sitting a game behind the Warriors for the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference. That’s important because the 3-6 matchup avoids the Suns on that side of the bracket until the Western Conference Finals.

And if Dallas is to make it that far, Playoff Luka is going to be the benefactory of such a trudge. Because if this were any other season when Embiid and Jokic weren’t destroying worlds and grabbing all the rebounds, this would be Luka’s year as the MVP. He’s one win from getting the Mavs to 50 on the season, something that hasn’t been done since the Dirk Era and quite frankly, something never thought of in this realm.

If the Mavs can grab the No. 3 seed and face Denver or Utah in the first round, that would set up a favorable matchup against the Grizzlies in the second round. To which everyone groans at the thought, but Dallas has not lost to Memphis in quite a while. It’s sort of like the Dirk-Pau matchups of years past that always went the Big German’s way.

But the Mavs might be the only team in the league that can lay an egg in a Kristaps Porzingis revenge game and turn that into a 6-point win over the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday behind 32 points and 15 assists for Doncic.

"Obviously, when you play against superstars like Giannis today, you always have extra motivation," Doncic said. "He's a champion, a two-time MVP."

When the Dallas role players are clicking like they did Sunday, it’s hard to think they can be beat. Dwight Powell had 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Reggie Bullock had 16 points. Spencer Dinwiddie continued his efficient play with 11 points in 21 minutes by making three threes.

"On the road against the champs, it's a hard place to win, especially after we had that performance in Washington," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. "This group in the locker room knows they can respond."

And they’ll need to respond again against a Pistons team that’s come in winning three in a row and hurting their odds at another No. 1 pick. The good news is Cade Cunningham is all that and a bag a chips. The bad news is he’s not playing right now. The better news is Saadiq Bey has become an awesome No. 2 with Cunningham. Bey had 31 points on 11 of 18 shooting and drilled seven threes. Frank Jackson was behind him with 19 points.

That all happened in the Pistons’ 121-117 win over the Indiana Pacers the other night.

"My team did a great job of playing together," Bey said. "I just tried to take what the defense was giving me. We were playing together, sharing the ball and the coaching staff did a good job putting us in the right position."

The Mavs won’t have Maxi Kleber in this matchup, but the Pistons won’t have a lot of their guys themselves. If that’s the case, it’s going to be a long night for Cunningham if he has to go at this alone with a stingy Dallas defense. Luka goes off for a big night, and Dallas gets win No. 50. Mavericks by 15

The Mavs are 6-2 ATS in the last three seasons off five straight overs.

The Mavs are 204-144 ATS since 1996 after playing two non-conference games.

The Pistons are 9-2 ATS this season after covering six or seven of their last eight ATS.

PG: Luka Doncic

SG: Jalen Brunson

SF: Reggie Bullock

PF: Dorian Finney-Smith

C: Dwight Powell

PG: Killian Hayes

SG: Cade Cunningham

SF: Saadiq Bey

PF: Isaiah Livers

C: Isaiah Stewart

Mavs: Maxi Kleber (ankle, out), Tim Hardaway Jr. (foot, out)

Pistons: Jerami Grant (calf, out), Marvin Bagley III (hip, out), Cory Joseph (back, out)

Points: Luka Doncic -- 28.3

Rebounds: Luka Doncic -- 9.1

Assists: Luka Doncic -- 8.7

Points: Cade Cunningham -- 17.3

Rebounds: Isaiah Stewart -- 8.6

Assists: Cade Cunningham -- 5.5