Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 12/16/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: ROOT Sports

Odds/Point Spread: Dallas (-6)

Moda Center is the location where the Portland Trail Blazers (6-17) will try to defeat the Dallas Mavericks (15-9) on Saturday. Dallas opens this matchup as 6-point favorites. The betting total comes in at 231.

The Mavericks played the Timberwolves and took a loss by a final of 119-101 in their last game. Dallas finished the game having earned a 47.0% FG percentage (39 of 83) and made 7 out of their 32 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Mavericks buried 16 of 18 tries for a rate of 88.9%. Concerning getting rebounds, they earned 34 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 21 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 6 steals. Regarding defending, Dallas let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the field on 44 out of 88 shooting. Minnesota doled out 30 dimes and had 9 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Minnesota snagged 45 rebounds (12 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 2 rejections. Minnesota went 68.0% from the free throw line by making 17 of their 25 attempts. They made 14 of 31 attempts from beyond the arc. When talking about fouls, the Mavericks finished with 19 and the Timberwolves recorded 19 fouls.

Luka Doncic is someone who came through in this contest. He racked up 39 points on 15 of 27 shooting. He played for 39 mins and grabbed 6 rebounds. Doncic ended up going 55.6% from the field and also totaled 13 dimes.

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Dallas comes into this game with a mark of 15-9 on the campaign. They are averaging 119.4 points per contest (6th in basketball) while shooting 47.3% from the floor. The Mavericks are shooting 37.4% on shots from 3-point land (381 of 1,019) and 75.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Dallas is pulling in 42.0 boards per contest and has tallied 616 dimes on the campaign, which is 16th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 12.0 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.3 personal fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Mavericks are forcing their opponents into 14.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.7 fouls. They currently rank 23rd in basketball in allowing assists with 659 surrendered on the year. The Mavericks defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 48.2% (1,056 of 2,192) and they relinquish 46.0 rebounds per contest as a group. They are giving up 37.4% on 3-point attempts while they are 21st in basketball in PPG from their opponents (117.0).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Trail Blazers went home defeated by a final of 122-114 when they played the Jazz. In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Portland permitted Utah to grab 45 in total (13 on the offensive glass). They finished 33.3% from beyond the arc by shooting 11 of 33 and finished the game at 13 out of 14 at the free throw line (92.9%). The Trail Blazers permitted the Jazz to convert 49 of their 92 attempts from the field which had them shooting 53.3% in this matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Trail Blazers finished 43 for 103 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.7%. In reference to shooting from beyond the arc, Portland made 16 of their 45 attempts (35.6%). They were able to knock down 12 of those for a clip of 66.7%. The Jazz earned 14 personal fouls for the contest which got the Trail Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 9 steals for the game. The Trail Blazers recorded 28 defensive rebounds and 21 offensive boards for a total of 49 in the game.

Scoot Henderson was important for the Trail Blazers in this game. Henderson scored 23 points in his 35 minutes on the court and had 10 assists for the matchup. He converted 9 out of 21 in this matchup for a rate of 42.9%, and added 2 rebounds.

Portland has a win-loss record of 6-17 on the season. When it comes to offense, the Trail Blazers are shooting 43.2% from the field, which has them ranked 30th in the NBA. Portland has earned 2,457 pts on the season (106.8 per contest) and they collect 41.1 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 22.3 times per contest (30th in the NBA) and they lose possession via turnover 15.6 times per contest. The Trail Blazers have committed 20.6 fouls per contest while shooting 79.5% from the charity stripe.

The Portland defense surrenders 33.1% on three-point shots (244 of 738) and their opponents are knocking down 81.5% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 26.2 assists and 45.2 rebounds every game, which ranks them 15th and 24th in basketball. The Trail Blazers are ranked 16th in the league in points per game surrendered with 113.7. They are forcing 16.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 48.6% from the floor (24th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Portland (+6)

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