With the Utah Jazz already up 1-0 in the series, they’ll shoot for another road win against Dallas. Luka Doncic was missing from the lineup in the last game, which inevitably led to a win for Utah. Doncic has already been ruled out of the second game of this series as well.
Now, it’s up to the Utah Jazz to capitalize and pull off another win. The question is, can they go up 2-0.
The Mavericks are trying to fend off the Jazz the best they can until Doncic returns. At the moment, it doesn’t look as if that will be any time soon. The good news is they only lost by six points in the recent loss to the Jazz.
Taking this into consideration, a few tweaks and the Mavericks could win tonight. The Mavericks come in as six-point underdogs in tonight’s game. Apart from our SGP, you can also add this to a parlay prediction.
Game Preview: Utah Jazz at Dallas Mavericks
The Jazz offense was limited to just 99 points in the first game against Dallas. Although they came away with a win, it’s safe to say the Mavericks’ defense performed well.
For the Jazz to get win number two, their offense will need to step it up. Rudy Gobert grabbed 17 rebounds in the first game but had just five points. Utah will definitely need more from him in tonight’s game.
The Dallas offense also needs to find a way to be better tonight. After scoring just 93 points, it’s not surprising they lost the game. Jalen Brunson had a pretty great game against the Jazz, scoring 24 points.
However, he also led the team in rebounds with seven. If the Mavericks want to win, they’ll need to be better in that category. Rebounds usually equal more chances to score.
Against The Spread: Utah Jazz -6
There are a few reasons we consider this to be the best pick for tonight’s game. For starters, the Dallas Mavericks are missing their leading scorer, and their offense is awful without Doncic.
The other reason is we think we’ll see a big step up from Rudy Gobert. He had an uncharacteristic five-point game against the Mavericks last time. His season average is 15.6 points per game.
The Total: OVER 205.5
With Gobert having a better game tonight, we think it’ll greatly impact the score. The total being set at 205.5 is very low, and we think it’ll go over tonight. In their March 27th meeting, the final score was 114-110; on March 7, the score ended at 111-103.
Both of these totals are over the 205.5 expected for tonight. Because of this, we’ll take the over in this scenario.
To Score 15+ Points: Rudy Gobert (+108)
Gobert’s first game against the Mavericks was a disappointment in terms of scoring. Tonight, we think he’ll return to his normal form. His average against the Dallas Mavericks this season is 12.0 points per game.
Today, we think he’ll be much closer to his season average of 15.6. Look for Gobert to play a larger role in the Jazz’s scoring tonight.
Player Points: Jalen Brunson OVER 23.5 (+100)
Brunson seems to be the leader for the Mavericks while Doncic is sidelined. After Game 1, it’s clear that the offense will run through him. He put 24 points against the Jazz on Saturday; he should be able to do the same again today.