NBA: Dallas Mavericks VS Los Angeles Clippers Pick and Predictions 02/08/2023

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Wednesday, February 8th, 2023

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

TV:  ESPN

Mavs: 29-26, 6th place Western Conference

Clippers: 31-26, 4th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Clippers -7.5, O/U 220.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Clippers -8, O/U 221

Fanduel: Point Spread: Clippers -8, O/U 220.5

Mavericks: PG Kyrie Irving, SG Tim Hardaway JR, SF Josh Green, PF Reggie Bullock, C Christian Wood

Clippers: PG Terence Mann, SG Paul George, SF Kawhi Leonard, PF Marcus Morris SR, C Ivica Zubac

A Western Conference matchup that features a muted debut.  The Dallas Mavericks just pulled off the biggest trade of the season by adding PG/SG Kyrie Irving to PG Luka Doncic for a throttling offensive backcourt.  However PG Luka Doncic will not play in the game because of a sore heel.  At least that is what it says at press time.  So Kyrie, the worst teammate in professional sports,  will run the Mavericks without Luka, without Dorian Finney Smith (who is now a Net), without Spencer Dinwiddie (who is now a Net), and without a future 1st round pick, and without 2 future second round picks… So everything should be alright… I mean they have SG Reggie Bullock playing Power Forward… and they have to figure out where the defense will come from now that Dorian is gone?…. Oh and they still aren’t sure that Kyrie has no birthday parties or housewarming parties to attend?… because it would be 100% in character for Kyrie to simply not show up for the game.  The Clippers on the other hand do not care who the Mavs have on the court as long as they do not have Luka. The Clippers are finally healthy and rolling and they do not want to slow down for anybody.  The great betting opportunity here is in wondering deeply about the -8 point spread.  It also would not be out of character for Kyrie to drop 40 and keep the game close if C Christian Wood goes off down low.  Let’s take a look at the numbers… and remember only the Clippers numbers mean anything since the Mavs with Kurioe and without Luka simply have no numbers that apply.

The Dallas Mavericks have won 5 of their last 5 games.  They won their last game over the Utah Jazz 124-111 for a big win ATS as well. Luka did not play but SF Josh Green had 29 points and bench shooting guard Jaden Hardy, a rookie second round pick, also dropped 29 points.  That is today’s NBA where a guy you never heard of can go off for big points.  The Nets are currently watching their rookie who replaced Kyrie drop 3 games of 40+ points.

The Los Angeles Clippers have won 8 of their last 10 games and have consistently risen in the standings from 7th to 4th and are now solidifying their place in the top-4…. They won their last game against the Brooklyn Nets 124-116, thanks to Kyrie Irving demanding a trade and funnily enough may win this game against the Mavericks thanks to Kyrie Irving demanding a trade!!  It is all coming up Clippers. It was however a loss against an -8.5 spread that the Clippers came within 1 point of covering but ultimately failed.  In the win the Clippers got 29 points from SG Paul George, 24 points from SF Kawhi Leonard, and 14 points from backup SF/SG Norman Powell.  This is the formula for Clippers success.  A big two on the court and a powerful bench scorer using the role player depth the team has to get wins.  If this keeps up, the second half of the season will be a lot more successful than the first half.  

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The Mavericks are 23rd in scoring with 112.5 points per game, 30th in rebounds with 38.7 per game.  On defense they are 8th while only allowing 112 points per game from opponents.  They will be trying multiple guys at new starting positions.

The Clippers are 27th in scoring with 111.2 points per game, 14th in rebounds with 43.8 per game.  On defense is where this team shines as they rank 3rd while holding teams to 110.9 points per game.  They are deep with two-way players in Kawhi & Paul George as the ones you know and Terence Mann and Ivica Zubac as the ones you do not.  Pay careful attention to how quickly they are able to close even after a switch.  This is a strong defensive team.

Our prediction for Wednesday, February 8th is…. Clippers 128 - Mavericks 100

Bet on the Clipper even though the spread is large… and even though the Clippers did not cover the spread last game.  The Mavs will be lost in the wilderness.  They will be missing Superstar Luka Doncic AND defensive fulcrum Dorian Finney Smith… the combination will be too much for the players to wrap their brains around.  Plus everyone expects Kyrie Irving (if he shows up) to score big while taking 30 something shots and missing more than half.  

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

Dallas is 12-4 ATS as a road underdog of 6.5 to 12 points the last 3 seasons.

Clippers are 39-21 ATS in a home game where the total is 220-229.5 the last 3 seasons.

Mavericks: PG Kyrie Irving.  ESPN will have a recap of how he did in his first game (if he shows up) with the Mavericks.  My money is on “pretty good”.  He will score.  He also will have no idea who his teammates are since he isn’t a student of the game in any way… and he will get 30 points while shooting his team out of the game.

Clippers: PG Terence Mann. Not a superstar, never an all-star.  Terence inhabits that portion of the game where he is a Swiss Army Knife styled role player.  You will watch him play PG though the team has used him as a small forward.. As a shooting guard… as a starter, as a sixth man… Terence is everywhere.

Mavericks: Jason “Supervillian” Kidd

Clippers: Tye “somewhere yawning” Lue