Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/18/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Monday, December 18, 2023

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

The Dallas Mavericks (16-9) are on their way to Ball Arena on Monday where they will try to defeat the Denver Nuggets (17-10).

The Mavericks took the court against the Trail Blazers and notched a win by a score of 131-120 in their last game. In regard to personal fouls, the Mavericks ended up with 17 while the Trail Blazers finished the game with 21 personal fouls. They converted 7 of their 32 attempts from downtown. Portland went 86.4% from the free throw line by converting 19 of 22 tries. Moreover, Portland totaled 44 rebounds (10 offensive, 34 defensive) and got 2 blocked shots. Portland earned 17 assists and had 8 steals for the contest. When talking about defending, Dallas let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the field on 47 of 94 shooting. They also doled out 27 dimes for this contest in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and having 7 steals. Regarding rebounding, they earned a total of 47 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Mavericks made 19 of 21 attempts for a rate of 90.5%. Dallas finished with a 49.5% FG percentage (48 out of 97) and knocked down 16 of 47 shots from beyond the arc.

Luka Doncic is a player who played a role for the game. Doncic went 53.6% from the floor and distributed 10 assists. He played 37 minutes and also snagged 12 boards. He left the arena with 40 points on 15 of 28 shooting.

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Dallas enters this one with a win-loss mark of 16-9 so far this year. They turn it over 12.1 times per game and as a group they commit 18.2 fouls every game. As a team, Dallas is grabbing 42.2 rebounds per game and has 643 dimes this season, which is 17th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Mavericks are shooting 37.2% from downtown (397 of 1,066) and 76.0% from the free throw line. They average 119.9 pts per game (6th in the league) while going 47.4% from the floor.

Defensively, the Mavericks are forcing their opponents into 14.4 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.7 fouls. They are currently ranked 22nd in the NBA in giving up assists with 676 surrendered on the campaign. The Mavericks are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.3% (1,103 of 2,286) and they relinquish 45.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They relinquish 36.8% on shots from distance and they are ranked 22nd in the NBA in points per game allowed (117.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Nuggets walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 118-117 against the Thunder. In reference to rebounding, Denver allowed Oklahoma City to pull down 40 in total (9 offensive). They finished the game shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc by shooting 7 out of 21 and ended up shooting 25 of 30 at the free throw line (83.3%). The Nuggets permitted the Thunder to convert 43 out of 84 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 51.2% in this game. When the game finished, the Nuggets ended up shooting 42 out of 93 from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.2%. In relation to shooting from beyond the arc, Denver converted 12 of their 32 tries (37.5%). They were able to knock down 21 of those for a percentage of 87.5%. The Thunder were called for 19 personal fouls for the contest which took the Nuggets to the free throw line for 24 attempts. They turned the ball over 9 times, while recording 5 steals for the contest. The Nuggets were able to snag 30 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 46 in this game.

Nikola Jokic ended up being a factor for the Nuggets in the matchup. He converted 8 out of 15 in the game for a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and accumulated 6 rebounds. Jokic accumulated 24 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 12 dimes in the matchup.

Denver has a win-loss record of 17-10 on the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Nuggets are connecting on 48.7% from the field, which is 5th in the NBA. Denver has tallied 3,097 points on the campaign (114.7 per contest) and they pull in 44.6 rebounds per contest. They are getting an assist 29.7 times per game (2nd in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 12.4 times per contest. The Nuggets are responsible for committing 19.1 fouls per contest and they connect on 72.5% from the charity stripe.

The Denver defense allows 35.8% on 3-pointers (299 of 835) and opponents are connecting on 80.8% of their free throw shots. They give up 24.9 assists and 42.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 6th and 9th in basketball. The Nuggets on the defensive side of the court are 6th in the league in points given up per game with 110.8. They are able to force 12.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.2% from the field (11th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Dallas

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