Mavericks – Wizards

Luka Doncic Kristaps Porzingis Mavs NBA preview

The new look Dallas Mavericks will host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night in the long awaited season opener for both sides.

Dallas starts a new era after Dirk Nowitzki finally ended his 21 year Mavericks career, but the franchise is in good hands with two other All Star level European players taking the reigns. Luka Doncic has already cemented his status as a franchise caliber player after his rookie of the year campaign last season, and the Mavs will finally get back Kristaps Porzingis from injury after acquiring him in a trade with the Knicks last season. With two young cornerstones in place and with a decent mix of role players (including new additions Curry and Wright), the Mavs seem set for the future, and will want to attack the playoffs this season.

The Wizards will surely be one of the worst teams in the league this year, having virtually nobody on the roster aside from Bradley Beal. This team is pretty much composed of Bradley Beal, promising rookie Hachimura and a bunch of bench warmers, so the squad looks really bad. Since Beal is only a fringe All Star level player and has not proven he can lead a team to anything good, chances are the Wizards will struggle in the bottom of the Eastern Conference, tanking for a draft pick – hoping to get back to relevancy next year when they should also get back John Wall from injury.

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Team news: The Mavs will miss starting center Powell, while Brunson, Finney Smith and Curry are slightly doubtful – but all are expected to play. The Wizards will miss Wall, Miles, Brown Jr, Thomas and Mahinmi.

The Mavericks had a 2-3 preseason record, while the Wizards were 3-2, but of course that is completely irrelevant.

This Wizards team seems to be as bad as they come as far as this NBA season is concerned, and is highly possible that they will fight for the worst record in the entire league. Aside from the occasional strange night, they should have no business competing with the good teams, particularly on the road in the Western Conference.

They are also dealing with an injury crisis, so things look really bleak for Washington coming into this clash.

The new look Mavs may need some time to gain chemistry and fully express themselves, but they should be good right away with two talents like Doncic and Porzingis, especially as they are good friends and have trained together for a long time. The performance level in the preseason increased game after game, which can only be a good sign.

Truth to be told the Mavericks could have done better in free agency, as they were not able to bring in a strong third piece to pair with Luka and KP, but they did address their needs at point guard (Wright) and with shooting (Curry). While they may still not be a playoff team this year, they will be in the mix, and their pieces should fit rather seemlessly together.

There will be a lot of excitement in Dallas for this opener, as the fans will be eager to finally see Doncic and Porzingis together. The atmosphere should be great, and the Mavs have been very solid at home last season, particularly until they broke up the team to trade for an injured Porzingis and started tanking.

The 8,5 point handicap seems very approachable for the Mavs here. They will have a massive size advantage with KP and Boban over the undersized WAS big men, they have the talent, so even an average shooting night should be enough for a double digit win over these hopeless Wizards. My tip will be Dallas to cover the 8,5 point spread. The line currently seems to trend towards 9,5 points. Prediction: Dallas Mavericks – Washington Wizards 117 – 101.

Pick: Mavs -8,5
Odds: 1.93 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.44
Event date: 24 October

About Rostick

Born in '88. Running betting tips websites since 2007. Launched Betdistrict in 2013. Worked as a bookie for a year to spy on the other side. Rugby Union and NBA expert. Editor info & statistics.

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