NBA Free Pick | Houston Rockets vs. Dallas Mavericks
Rockets & Mavericks Tip-off Friday Night
The NBA is finally back after the four-month layoff brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks should be a good one. No longer do we have to talk about masks and social distancing. We can now get down to betting on the NBA.
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Friday’s matchup between two of the top scoring teams in the league is a great place to start. The Rockets-Mavs winner may come down to which dynamic duo plays best. Bettors can simply focus on themselves to pick up a win.
Rockets vs Mavericks Preview
Game: Houston Rockets (40-24, 29-34-1 ATS) vs. Dallas Mavericks (40-27, 35-29-3 ATS)
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, July 31, 2020
Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports Arena, Kissimmee, Florida
Current Line: DAL -1 Total: 226.5
TV Coverage: ESPN
The duos involved here are, of course, James Harden and Russell Westbrook of Houston and Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis of Dallas.
Harden is the league’s leading scorer averaging 34.4 points per game. Westbrook is seventh at 27.5 per game just one spot behind the Mavs’ Doncic who scores 28.7 per night. Porzingis resides in the Top-40 coming in at No. 36 at 19.2 points a game.
Which pair will have the better night?
It’s hard to say. Westbrook is coming off a positive coronavirus test. He did not travel with the team to Orlando but did return in time to play in the Rockets exhibition games.
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In a loss to Toronto in Houston’s first exhibition game, Westbrook was rather unimpressive with just 10 points and nine rebounds, but he did only play a little more than 15 minutes.
Houston did beat Memphis and Boston in their other two preseason games. Harden put up 35 points and had eight rebounds and six assists in the 137-112 win over the Celtics. Boston rested its starters for the final exhibition game.
Dallas went 2-1 in its exhibition games. Wins over the Lakers and 76ers sandwiched a loss to Indiana.
The Mavericks and Rockets met twice during the regular season pre-COVID-19 and split the two games. Houston won the most recent game played in January.
Harden and Westbrook combined for 67 points in a 128-121 Houston victory. As most basketball bettors remember, the issue with that win is that Doncic was not active for Dallas.
Going back to the previous game, a 137-123 Mavericks win, Doncic was on fire. The second-year pro put up 41 points in that game.
One of the big issues for the Rockets is going to be dealing with the Mavericks’ size. Porzingis is 7-foot-3 and can step out and play on the wing. Houston simply cannot defend that and the Rockets lack a quality big man with Trevor Ariza deciding to sit out the restart.
Looking at the Total (226.5) doesn’t yield a lot of confidence. Yes, the Rockets and Mavs are two of the top scoring offenses in the league, but they have been off for four months. Expect some rust from both teams.
Prior to the break, the Total went Under in five of the Mavs’ previous seven games. The Under also hit 10 times in the last 15 meetings with Houston, but both teams can put up points.
The real play is on Dallas -1. Houston will have trouble defending both Porzingis and the 6-8 Doncic. Plus, the Rockets are 0-5 ATS in their last five games. Yes, that was before the break, but Doncic and Dallas win this one by at least a bucket.
NBA Free Pick: Mavericks -1
Need more? Check out our article on betting opening week of the 2020 MLB season.