The Dallas Mavericks (33-24) visit the Miami Heat (37-20) in NBA action on Tuesday night. This is a rematch of the 2006 and 2011 NBA Finals; the Heat won in 2006, while the Mavericks won the title five years later. The Heat won the first matchup this season in Dallas, rolling to a 125-110 win; the most important quarter in that matchup was the second, as the Heat posted 46 points to just 32 for Dallas, exposing the Mavericks’ lack of interior defense. After the trade deadline, the Mavericks have gotten even smaller, so how will this matchup go?
Take a look at our NBA betting preview of this showdown.
NBA Preview: Dallas Mavericks at Miami Heat (Tuesday, February 15)
When: Tuesday, February 15, 2022, 7:30 pm ET
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami
TV: No National Broadcast
Radio: KESN 103.3 FM Dallas / 104.5 FM The Team Miami
Live Stream: Hulu
NBA Odds: XXXX
Why should you bet on the Mavericks?
Dallas had won four in a row going into Saturday night’s game against the L.A. Clippers, which was the second in a pair of home games for Dallas. The Mavericks beat the Clippers by seven on Thursday night, but the Clippers won on Saturday, 99-97, even though Luka Doncic went off for 45 points for Dallas. He had 23 in the fourth quarter alone, along with 15 boards and eight assists, and he scored Dallas’ last 19 points of the game after Reggie Bullock knocked down a three-ball with 4:55 left. Bruson had 17, and Jalen Brunson had 22. The two newest Mavericks, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, did not play but should play against Miami.
It will be interesting to see how the Mavericks match up with Miami now that Kristaps Porzingis is not on the roster anymore. He did not appear in the November matchup, which meant that Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber and Wilie Cauley-Stein took turns trying to do their best in the paint against Bam Adebayo. Things did not go well for Dallas, as Adebayo dominated the paint and the Heat kept getting offensive rebounds to extend possessions.
Why should you put your money on the Heat?
The Heat have not lost since a four-point setback in Toronto on February 1. Since then, they have reeled off five wins in a row, four on a road swing and then a home win on Saturday over Brooklyn. Bam Adebayo had a monster game with 19 points and 14 boards, and the Heat got a key steal late from Kyle Lowry that turned into two points from P.J. Tucker to secure the win. At one point, the Heat led by as many as 21, but their offense stalled, and the Nets were able to take advantage.
Duncan Robinson went 6 of 10 from behind the line to finish with 18 points. Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler and Lowry all had 13 points apiece, and Lowry added six assists. The team’s winning streak has coincided with the return of Lowry to the lineup after missing nine games due to personal reasons. Lowry made several clutch threes against the win over the Mavericks in Dallas, and now Miami enters a stretch in which they will play 17 of 26 at home to finish the regular season, with no remaining road trip longer than three games.
Final Score and Betting Prediction
Luka Doncic has elevated his game after the departure of Kristaps Porzingis, but as the loss to the Clippers showed, Doncic cannot carry this team by himself. Neither Spencer Dinwiddie nor Davis Bertans offers even the mediocre rim protection that Porzingis provided when he was in the game, and the team had to cut promising big man prospect Moses Brown to make room for the new acquisitions. It feels like Dallas is still looking to arrange their salary-cap room instead of building a roster to win now, while the Heat are further along the trajectory toward contending now, and I expect the Heat to shred Dallas inside again. I predict a final score of Miami 120, Dallas 110.
Dallas Mavericks at Miami Heat: : Bet the Game Today
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