8:35 pm
November 8

Pelicans @ Mavericks

Who will WIN this matchup?

New Orleans Pelicans (1-9)

@ Dallas Mavericks (6-3)

 

Current odds:

New Orleans Pelicans: (+350)

Dallas Mavericks: (-450)

 

• The spread for the game is Dallas by 10 points.

• The Dallas Mavericks are happy to have Kristaps Porzingis back from injury. Porzingis and the Mavericks will play host to the Pelicans without Zion Williamson and perhaps without both Brandon Ingram and Herbert Jones on Monday night. The matchup comes one game after Porzingis returned from a five-game absence due to a back injury. Porzingis had 21 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes of a 107-104 home victory against Boston on Saturday. He scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and had a tying dunk with a key blocked shot in the final 1:39.

• At 1-9 heading into play Sunday, the Pelicans had the worst winning percentage in the NBA. They are coming off their worst performance in a 126-85 loss at Golden State on Friday as they conclude a four-game road trip. New Orleans trailed by just four points at halftime, but were embarrassed in the third quarter, when they were outscored 34-16, as well as 72-35 in the second half.

• Williamson has not played this season and remains sidelined indefinitely because of offseason foot surgery. Ingram has missed the last four games because of a hip contusion and is day to day. Jones, a rookie who had been starting in Ingram’s place, missed the second game of the trip. After clearing concussion protocol he sprained his left ankle in pregame warm-ups and did not play against the Warriors as the Pelicans lost their sixth straight.

• Jonas Valanciunas had his eighth consecutive double-double as he finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds against Golden State. But he hasn’t been getting enough help. “We’ve just got to be tougher,” Green said. “We have to continue to shuffle lineups, see if we can sustain and have a burst in the fourth quarter, which we haven’t done yet. But there’s always room for improvement, starting with me.

7/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Dallas Mavericks
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