Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction, 1/5/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks

Date: Friday, January 5, 2024

Location: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX

TV: Bally Sports Southwest-Dallas

Odds/Point Spread: Portland (+12)

The Dallas Mavericks (20-15) will compete against the Portland Trail Blazers (9-24) at American Airlines Center on Friday. Portland is 12-point dogs from oddsmakers. The total comes in at 238.

The Trail Blazers faced the Mavericks and took a loss by a score of 126-97 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Trail Blazers walked away with 34 and the Mavericks recorded 18 fouls. They also buried 13 of 30 shots from beyond the perimeter. Dallas walked away from this one shooting 70.7% from the free throw line by burying 29 of 41 tries. Moreover, Dallas collected 43 boards (7 offensive, 36 defensive) and earned 3 blocked shots. Dallas distributed 25 dimes and had 12 steals in the game. In reference to defending, Portland allowed 50.0% from the floor on 42 out of 84 shooting. They also distributed 23 dimes for this game while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and getting 4 steals. With regard to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 46 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Trail Blazers buried 16 of 22 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. Portland finished with a 39.1% field goal percentage (34 of 87) and buried 13 of 40 three-point shots.

Shaedon Sharpe is one player who came through for the matchup. He racked up 16 points on 6 out of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 22 mins and collected 4 rebounds. Sharpe finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor but finished the game without a dime.

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Portland will enter this matchup with a record of 9-24 for the campaign. They are turning it over 15.4 times per contest and as a squad are committing 20.9 personal fouls per game. As a team, Portland is pulling down 41.7 boards per contest and has accumulated 743 dimes on the year, which ranks 30th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Trail Blazers are connecting on 35.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (405 of 1,142) and 79.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 108.4 pts per contest (29th in the league) while connecting on 43.7% from the field.

On defense, the Trail Blazers are able to force 15.5 turnovers every game while drawing 18.6 personal fouls. They are ranked 15th in basketball in allowing assists with 885 surrendered so far this year. The Trail Blazers defense is allowing a FG percentage of 49.0% (1,412 of 2,879) and they surrender 44.7 boards per contest as a squad. They surrender 33.2% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 18th in basketball in opponents PPG (115.3).

For their last game, the Mavericks took home the win by a final score of 126-97 when they faced the Trail Blazers. When discussing attacking the glass, Dallas allowed Portland to collect 46 in total (10 on the offensive side). They finished 32.5% from three-point range by shooting 13 of 40 and finished the contest at 16 out of 22 at the charity stripe (72.7%). The Mavericks permitted the Trail Blazers to knock down 34 of 87 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 39.1% in the matchup. Overall, the Mavericks shot 42 for 84 from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.0%. In relation to shooting from downtown, Dallas converted 13 of 30 tries (43.3%). They were able to convert 29 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 70.7%. The Trail Blazers committed 34 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Mavericks to the free throw line for a total of 41 shots. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 12 steals for the contest. The Mavericks pulled down 36 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 43 for this contest.

Luka Doncic was important for the Mavericks in this matchup. He converted 13 of 21 for the contest for a rate of 61.9%, and had 6 rebounds. Doncic recorded 41 points in his 31 minutes of playing time and added 5 dimes in this matchup.

Dallas has a mark of 20-15 this season. The Mavericks are committing 18.4 fouls per contest and they go 75.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 25.3 times per game (25th in the NBA) and they turn it over 12.1 times per contest. Dallas has scored 4,148 points this year (118.5 per contest) and they average 42.1 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Mavericks are shooting 47.0% from the floor, which is ranked 18th in basketball.

The Dallas defense gives up 36.7% on shots from beyond the arc (466 of 1,269) and their opponents are knocking down 76.7% of their foul shots. They have given up 27.5 dimes and 46.6 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 25th and 28th in the NBA. The Mavericks on the defensive end are ranked 22nd in the league in PPG given up with 117.4. They have forced 14.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 48.1% from the floor (21st in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland (+12)

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