Mavericks vs Spurs Pick, Preview & Betting Odds For Saturday, December 31st

Check out our free Mavericks vs Spurs pick and preview for this NBA game in San Antonio. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this NBA matchup.

Mavericks vs Spurs NBA Pick & Preview

Sport: NBA
Teams: Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs
Where: San Antonio at AT&T Center
Date: Saturday, December 31st
Betting Odds SA +7.5, DAL -333 | SA +261 O/U OFF

The Mavericks come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 20-16. So far, the team has gone 13-21-2 against the spread. Dallas comes into the game having rattled off 5 straight wins. In these games, they have an average scoring differential of 8.0 points.

In their previous game, the Mavericks took down the Rockets by a score of 129-114. Not only did they come away with a straight up win, but they also covered the spread as 10 point favorites. Dallas played well enough in the second half to prevent the Rockets from making things interesting down the stretch, as they led by 14 going into halftime. Leading the team in scoring was Luka Doncic, as he contributed 35 points while hitting 52.4% of his shots.

So far, the Spurs have put together an overall record of 12-23, while going 15-20-0 vs the spread. Against the spread, San Antonio has a mark of 2-1. Straight up, their record is 2-1 in these games.

The Spurs are coming off a 122-115 win over the Knicks. This win came despite entering the game as the 4 point underdogs. San Antonio went on to win the game, as they led by 11 heading into halftime. In the win, Keldon Johnson led the team in scoring with 30 points on a field goal percentage of 52.4%.

Head To Head Recap & Stats

Looking back to last season, the Mavericks and Spurs met up for games, with Dallas winning the series 4-0. A large part of the team’s overall success vs San Antonio, was their ability to win on the road as they were above .500 away from home in the series. In last year’s head-to-head meetings, the Mavericks averaged 116.5 points per game vs San Antonio, which was an increase over their season-long average. While the Mavericks saw a boost in scoring, the Spurs averaged 109.0 points per contest in head-to-head meeting vs Dallas. This figure was similar to season-long average. Although the Spurs have the better ATS mark across the previous 5 head-head matchups at 4-1, the average scoring margin sits in favor of Dallas, as they averaged 116 points per game while allowing 111. Over the course of these games, they averaged 227 points per game, leading a 3-1-1 over-under record.

Odds & Free Betting Analysis For This NBA Game

Through 36 games, Dallas is averaging 112.2 points per game (19th). So far, the Mavericks are averaging 96.6 possessions per game, which places them below the NBA average. Not only is the team one of the more deliberate units in the NBA, they have yet to find their shooting stroke, ranking just 16th in the league in field goal percentage 46.9%.

On the defensive end of the floor, the Mavericks are giving up an average of 104.72 points per game, good for 2nd in the NBA.

This season, the Mavericks offense has primarily worked through Luka Doncic and Christian Wood who are 1st and 2nd on the team in scoring. In his 33 games, Doncic is 2nd in the NBA at 33.7 points per game. So far, him and Wood have accounted for 41% of the team’s field goal attempts while combining to average 51.2 points per contest. In addition to sitting 2nd on the team in scoring, Christian Wood is grabbing 8.0 rebounds for Dallas to go along with 1.5 assists.

This season, the San Antonio offense has had their problems scoring the ball as they are a below average unit at 111.5 points per game. In terms of pace, the Spurs are on the top units in the NBA, averaging 100.7 possessions per game. If the Spurs are going to turn things around on offense, they must improve their overall shooting efficiency. In particular, the 3-point shot has been problematic for the unit, as they are just 20th in 3-point shooting percentage.

On defense, the Spurs will look for some improved play, as they are currently the 23rd ranked unit in points allowed per game.

A key injury to note in this game is the likely absence of the Spurs 2nd leading scorer, Devin Vassell. In his 28 games, Vassell is averaging 19.6 points per game while dishing out 3.6 assists and grabbing 4.0 rebounds. In he is unable to take the floor, the team will be looking for even more production out of Keldon Johnson, who leads the team and is 39th in the NBA at 21.2 points per contest. For the season, he has connected on 41.9% of his field goal attempts while taking 19.9% of overall shots.