The New Orleans Pelicans will take on the Dallas Mavericks for the second game in a row after getting trounced in the first meeting.
The Mavericks might not have been able to shoot better if the Pelicans weren’t even in the gym for the last game, as they hit an astounding 68 percent as a team and scored 139 points on the helpless Pelicans.
The schedule is the only thing working in the Pelicans’ favor at this point, as they have the 25th most-difficult remaining schedule in the NBA, and it starts getting lighter after this Mavs game.
After the Mavericks, the Pelicans will play the Rockets, Nuggets, Pistons, Spurs and Thunder, which are all winnable games, so now would be the perfect time to go on a streak.
Zion Williamson is not walking through that door anytime soon, so the Pelicans will have to get it done without him, and if they can’t, this season is lost.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Dallas Mavericks: Odds, spread, over/under
According to WynnBET, the New Orleans Pelicans are 7.5 point underdogs on the road to the Mavericks, which seems low after the beating that was administered in the last game.
Kristaps Porzingis is listed as questionable for this one, but that was true in the last game as well, so expect him to play, as no one on the Mavericks is going to want to sit this one out and waste a shot at padding their stats.
The money lines are set at +255 for the Pelicans and -310 for the Mavericks and the over/under is 217 combined for both teams.
It’s impossible to bet the Pels right now because you have no idea which team is going to show up, the one that looked amazing vs. the Clippers or the one that looked like a high school team against the Mavericks.
If I absolutely had to bet this one (I wouldn’t), I’d just take the Pelicans to win, as they are likely to get blown off the floor anyway and you may as well get the better odds.
It’s not likely that the Mavs will shoot 70 percent again (I hope) but it would be hard to take the under after they put up 139 on the Pels in the last game. AVOID.
Pelicans vs. Mavericks: Best daily fantasy bets
Even though he finally had a bad game in the last loss, Jonas Valanciunas should still be a good play in this one. I expect him to bounce back and resume his streak of double-doubles.
Josh Hart may not play again tonight, so look for Kira Lewis Jr. to get more run than normal, which could pay off if you want to take a gamble on a low-cost guy in daily fantasy.
Brandon Ingram has been playing well of late and scored 29 in the last one. Expect the Pels to go to him early and often as his mid-range game was pretty much the only thing that was working against the Mavs in the last game.
There will be points scored in this game, you just have to guess which guy is going to get them, which isn’t an easy task right now given the Pelicans’ inconsistency.
How to watch
The game starts at 7:30 PM CT in Dallas and you can watch on Bally Sports New Orleans or listen on the radio on ESPN 100.3 FM if you can’t bear to watch.