The Dallas Mavericks (47-29) head to the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Wednesday to play the Cleveland Cavaliers (42-33) at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Mavericks vs. Cavaliers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Dallas has won 4 of the last 5 games — 4-1 against the spread (ATS) — including back-to-back double-digit home victories versus the Utah Jazz Sunday and the Los Angeles Lakers on March 22.
Cleveland snapped a 3-game losing streak by beating the Orlando Magic 107-101 at home Monday. But the Cavs failed to cover as 8-point favorites and are 0-5 ATS in the last 5 games (2-3 overall).
The Cavs crushed the Mavs 114-96 in Dallas Nov. 29. But Cleveland was at full strength while Mavs All-Star PG Luka Doncic was still playing his way into shape and Dallas was still learning first-year coach Jason Kidd’s system.
- Money line (ML): Mavericks -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | Cavaliers +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
- Against the spread: Mavericks -2.5 (-107) | Cavaliers +2.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 212.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
Mavericks at Cavaliers key injuries
Mavericks
- G Spencer Dinwiddle (knee) out
Cavaliers
- C Jarrett Allen (finger) out
- PF Evan Mobley (ankle) out
Mavericks at Cavaliers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Mavericks 113, Cavaliers 107
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” toward the Mavericks (-135) because I’d much rather need Dallas outright than have to sweat a cover.
My buy-price for the Mavs’ ML is -140, at which point I’d pass on Dallas’s spread. That said, the Mavs are 13-3 straight up (SU) as road favorites and the Cavs are 4-9 SU as home underdogs.