NBA Pick

NBA Betting Trends

The Nets find themselves in the middle of the playoff pack in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 39-28 straight-up that has them holding down the fourth spot in the standings. They are 5-2 both SU and against the spread in their last seven games and the total has gone OVER in their last four.

This will be the second game of an extended eight-game road trip that kicked-off with a 119-82 victory over Detroit as a 4.5-point road favorite. Brooklyn has to be encouraged by offensive output after averaging 95.6 points a game this season, but the bread and butter of this team all year long has been a shutdown defense that is ranked fifth in the NBA in points allowed (94.4).

The loss of Dirk Nowitzki for almost the entire first half of the season dug a pretty deep hole for Dallas in the standings, but it has started its long climb back since his return. The Mavericks are now just three games below .500 at 32-35 SU after winning seven of their last 10 both SU and ATS. The total has gone 4-5-1 during this stretch of games.

Defense has not been the name of the game for Dallas this season; allowing an average of 102.1 points a game, which is ranked near the bottom of the league. The Mavericks have picked up the pace on this end of the court by holding teams to less than 100 points in four of their last seven games. Coupled with the fact that they have exceeded their season scoring average of 101.5 points a game in five of their last nine games including posting 127 points on Atlanta this past Monday night in a 14-point win on the road, it is easy to see why they are back to their winning ways.

Prediction

The Nets have struggled with Dallas in the past including a 98-90 loss a few weeks back as three-point home favorites and despite the lopsided win over the Pistons they are just 5-5 SU in their previous 10 road games. Right now, Dallas needs this game much more than Brooklyn does and this gets reflected in the final score.

Dallas 96 Brooklyn 92