The Bucks quest for a Central Division title continues on Saturday night in Dallas against the postseason contending Mavericks. 

The Bucks, fresh off a home win against the Nuggets, hit the road to try make it a second straight win with Dallas after the team beat the Hornets on Thursday night. 

With playoff positioning in each conference on the line, let’s preview this Saturday night matchup. 

Spread

Moneyline

Total: 228 (Over -114/Under -108)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Bucks Team Injury Report

Mavericks Team Injury Report

Milwaukee Bucks 

Kyle Kuzma UNDER 1.5 Three’s Made (-110)

The Mavericks are top 10 in three-point shots allowed and three-point percentage allowed since the start of February, which makes me interested in fading Milwaukee shooters from the perimeter. 

Kuzma is my choice for this one with his shaky three-point shooting continuing since being traded from the Wizards to the Bucks, hitting only 28% of his shots from beyond the arc since arriving in Milwaukee. 

In nine games with the Bucks, Kuzma has cleared this number in four of them, but given the matchup and perimeter defense for Dallas, I like his under. 

Dallas Mavericks

Kyrie Irving UNDER 5.5 Assists (-158)

Luka Doncic is of course on the Lakers, and hadn’t played for the Mavericks since Christmas Day, so we have a fairly high sample of Irving’s role as the lead offensive weapon for this team. 

In that time, Irving is averaging four assists, and if you look at since the trade deadline, he is averaging about the same amount. 

The number simply aren’t there for Irving as a passer to justify him getting to six dimes on a given night, so despite being pricey, I’ll side with the under. 

These are two top 10 defenses in the NBA since the trade deadline with Milwaukee playing excellent on that side of the ball, sixth in points allowed per 100 possessions while the Mavericks are ninth in that same metric. 

I think we see each defense prevail in this one given that each offense is hovering around the league average in effective field goal percentage since the trade deadline. 

Sure, both teams are top 10 in pace, but the buckets have been tougher to come by for both offenses while each defense has maintained its form despite some changes at the trade deadline. 

The under is my preference on Saturday night. 

PICK: UNDER 228 (-108, available at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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