Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz Betting Preview/Prop Pick

The Mavericks and the Utah Jazz are nearly tied for the No.4 spot in the Western Conference. Tonight, we'll watch these two face off in what could be a preview of the NBA Playoffs.

Dallas is currently on a two-game winning streak, with a big win over the Miami Heat. They'll use this momentum to hopefully propel them past the Jazz, led by Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

The Utah Jazz are dealing with a few key injuries, but there's definitely some good news. Donovan Mitchell is "probable" for tonight's game, giving the Jazz their best chance of winning.

They'll have to take on the Mavericks after a historic 49-point performance from Luka Doncic. With each of these teams hoping to get the edge on the other, the Jazz prepares to host Dallas.

Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks look to pull off another upset

In their game against Miami, the Dallas Mavericks were +5.5 and won 107-99. Today, they come in as six-point underdogs to the Utah Jazz. As underdogs yet again, the Mavericks look to take a step forward in the Western Conference.

The only problem that we see is the Mavericks haven't been spectacular on offense. Still, they've been able to win 35 games so far.

On average, the Mavericks only score 106.64 points per game. Where they shine is on the defensive side of the ball, allowing only 103.29 points per game. With such a stingy defense, the Mavericks are poised to take the Jazz head-on.

Their main focus on defense will be stopping Rudy Gobert on the interior and Donovan Mitchell. Luka will likely be assigned to Mitchell today. 

Utah Jazz: Rudy Gay has been ruled out for today's game

Another injury that hurts the depth of the Utah Jazz is Rudy Gay. Gay has been out for a few weeks now, and he won't be returning for this game. The good news is Donovan Mitchell, and Rudy Gobert are both cleared to play.

Mitchell leads the team in points per game with 25.7 and in steals at 1.6. Adding him back into the lineup will definitely give the Jazz a better shot here. 

The problem becomes how they'll deal with the Mavericks' outstanding defense. If Dallas can find a way to shut down Gobert inside, the Jazz will be in trouble.

The Jazz has done well against the Mavericks in their last ten games against them, going 7-3. However, the last time these two played was in December, and Dallas covered the spread. So, who's the best pick?

Our pick for the Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz

Before their game in December, the last match between these two took place in the playoffs. Dallas won 111-103. In the last three games, the Mavericks have gone 2-1 against the spread when playing Utah.

Overall, in their last seven games this season, the Mavericks have a 6-1 record against the spread. This is going to lead us to take the Dallas Mavericks in this game.

They come in as six-point underdogs, quite a large margin when taking previous games into consideration. Jazz has struggled in the past to create a lot of separation between them and the Mavericks. We'll also pair this game with the under due to the defense of the Mavericks.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: Dallas Mavericks +6, UNDER

Prop Pick

Utah (-120) UNDER 111.5 Points

Dallas is allowing 103.3 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 2 in the league. Scores have gone UNDER in five of the Mavericks’ last six Friday games.

With Dunkel predicting a Dallas victory by the score of 108-104, take the Jazz (-110) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 111.5 points against the Mavs.

Check out more of Today’s NBA Picks!