Covers: Dallas Mavericks

Zak Hanshew writes: “The Thunder have been struggling for efficiency lately, ranking just 17th over the last 10 games in true shooting percentage. They also tend to give up easy points to opponents, ranking dead last in the league in opponent second chance points per game. The Mavericks have been cleaning up on the boards lately, being 2nd in the league in rebounding percentage over the last 10 games. Look for them to control the glass tonight too, which could help go a long way to tilting the outcome of this game in their favor. The Thunder lack size outside of Isaiah Hartenstein and could struggle to deal with the rotation of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford. Take the points on the Mavericks here.”

Pickswise: Dallas Mavericks

Filip Tomic writes: “The Mavs are playing the team they eliminated in last year’s Western Conference semifinals, and the mental edge gained in that series shouldn’t be underestimated here. Dallas also won the first meeting of the season 121-119 some 3 weeks ago, despite not having Doncic in that game. It was their 5th win in 6 meetings while they’ve also covered the spread in 4 of 6 visits to Oklahoma City.Meanwhile, the Thunder have put together a 3-game win streak of their own and are playing really well right now. Getting Alex Caruso back from injury is huge for them, but until they get Chet Holmgren back this is just a bad matchup for them. Let’s go with the Mavs and the extra points for additional security here.”