Thursday, April 3, 10:30 PM on TNT

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

The Mavericks once again find themselves on the outside looking in towards the Western Conference playoffs as they trail Phoenix and Memphis by half a game. The three teams have jockeyed for position as the season closes out with Dallas holding the 7th seed just a few days ago. With only 7 games remaining for the Mavs each tilt is a big one, especially against a Clipper team playing the second leg of a back-to-back and virtually locked into the #3 seed.

The schedule tightens up for Dallas as they begin a 4-game road trip but after the Clipper game matchups with the Lakers, Kings, and Jazz are all winnable. In their last 10 games the Mavs have gone 6-4 including a disappointing 4-4 home stand that just wrapped up. Dallas has played 4 OT games in their last 7 so the day of rest on Wednesday comes at an opportune time.

The Clippers on the other hand will spend their Wednesday night on the finale of a 5-game road trip that wraps up in Phoenix. They immediately travel back home Thursday to take on the blood-thirsty Mavs. The Clips have played well recently winning 8 of 10 from March 12th to March 31st. The calendar has turned and so has the quality of opponent as L.A plays 4 of their next 5 games against playoff teams including San Antonio and OKC.

L.A and Dallas met up not too long ago in a 109-103 Clipper victory on March 27th that pushed their season record against the Mavs to 3-0. Dallas was a -1 favorite at home in that most recent matchup but 31 points from Chris Paul and 18 from Blake Griffin pushed LA to the SU win. Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki teamed up for 45 points which help pushed the over 211 to hit by a mere one point.

ATS Trends

Dallas is 23-13-0 ATS on the road this season

Dallas is 19-17-0 against the over/under on the road this season

Los Angeles is 18-18-0 ATS at home this season

Los Angeles is 18-18-0 against the over/under at home this season

Injuries to Watch

Dallas 

No injuries to report at this time

Los Angeles 

04/01/14 F Blake Griffin Back questionable
04/01/14 G Jamal Crawford Achilles questionable
03/28/14 F Danny Granger Hamstring out indefinitely
02/17/14 G J.J. Redick Hip out indefinitely

Josh's Pick: Take Dallas

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