Mavericks vs Magic Prediction and Odds (Take Doncic and Dallas Away from Home)
By Jon Helmkamp
The Magic host the Mavericks in Orlando as Dallas plays on the second leg of a back-to-back. Will that be a big enough factor to make up the difference between these two rosters?
Let’s start with the odds via WynnBET.
Mavericks vs Magic Odds, Spread and Total
Spread:
- Mavericks -5.5 (-110)
- Magic +5.5 (-110)
Moneyline:
- Mavericks -220
- Magic +180
Total:
- 211.0 (Over -110 | Under -110)
Mavericks vs Magic Prediction and Pick
I’ll be honest — when I saw that the spread here was only 5.5 points, I blinked profusely out of confusion. I don’t get it.
Sure, the Mavericks are playing a back-to-back, and weird things can happen on tired legs, but I don’t understand this. Dallas is 7-3 in their last 10 games, including 5-1 at home and 6-1 straight up as favorites. The Magic are not. They’re 3-7 in their last 10, 2-4 at home, and are 2-6 as underdogs.
One big factor to consider in this game — Dallas will be without Kristaps Porzingis, who left their game last night with a knee injury. They still have a guy named Luka Doncic, who is putting his name back in the MVP conversation. He’s capable of shouldering the load without Porzingis, and showed it last night with a 30 point, 12 assist, 6 rebound performance.
In the second game of a back-to-back, Dallas is 5-4-0 against the spread this season. It doesn’t appear to help the Magic much, as they’re 3-6-0 against the spread this year with a rest advantage. The Magic are coming off a win over the Pistons, and are 1-8-0 in games following a win. The Magic are surprisingly worse against the spread at home than they are on the road, covering at only a 6-16 rate at home this year.
This is the Mavericks for me. You’re getting discounted odds and a closer spread than it should be because of the back-to-back narrative and the loss of Porzingis, but I’m taking the Maverics to cover.
PICK: Mavericks -5.5 (-110)
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