The Denver Nuggets will play host tonight to the Dallas Mavericks in a 9:00pm ET shootout at the Pepsi Center. The contest is critical for both teams as the Nuggets look to maintain their lead in the Northwest division and the Mavericks look to close the gap in the Southwest standings. NBA Picks at SBGglobal.com have Denver listed as a -5 against the spread home favorite.
The Nuggets have been a surprise this season, dominating the Northwest even after shipping Iverson off to the Pistons. They have won seven of their last 10 entering tonight's game, but they are fresh off a 90-93 home loss to Detroit. The next few weeks will be crucial for them as the Blazers are breathing down their necks and Carmelo Anthony will be out with a broken hand. However, their next three games are at home where they are 14-5 on the year.
Denver averages an impressive 106.2 points per game at the Pepsi Center, but they also give up 99.9 to their opposition. They will need J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza to continue to step up in Anthony's absence; both players dropped 21 points in the Nuggets January 7th win over the Heat.
Dallas has been a little bit up and down of late, but they have still managed to garner six wins in their last 10 games. However, they have dropped two games in a row in their current road swing which ends tonight in Denver. The Mavericks fell 95-102 to the lowly Kings on Sunday, giving Sacramento just their ninth victory of the year.
Despite their occasional inconsistency, Dallas is 22-15 and just two and a half games back of the Spurs in the Southwest division. The Mavericks are 10-9 away from home, where they average 98.1 points per game and give up 96.9 in return.
NBA Picks Betting Trend: Denver is 8-2 straight up in their last 10 games as a home favorite with a spread between 4 and 7.5.
SBGglobal.com's NBA Picks: Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets
Mavericks +5 (-110), +180 (Money line)
Nuggets -5 (-110), -220 (Money line)
