Dallas Mavericks look for 14th straight win vs. Cleveland Cavaliers in TNT game

Here it is March 1st and the Dallas Mavericks haven’t lost a game since January 27th. Has anybody noticed the Mavericks just went 12-for-February and elevated their record to a staggering 49-8 overall and 27-3 at home? And in the process, Dallas has extended its winning streak to 13.

One might think when the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers lace them up for tonight’s game against the Mavericks in the American Airlines Center in Dallas (tip-off 8 p.m. EST) for the TNT televised game, they might as well just mail it in because their chances of winning are somewhere between slim and none.  

If you check with the staff at Point-Spreads.com, they will tell you the odds aren’t in the Cavaliers favor. Across the offshore betting board, the Cavaliers are 9 ½ point underdogs and their road record isn’t exactly stellar at 12-16. If the game was played at the Q-Arena in Cleveland the Cavaliers might have a good chance. After all, Cleveland has defeated Dallas in two of their last three meetings with LeBron James averaging 39.7 points in that span. But winning on the road in Dallas?

Perhaps the Cavaliers should take the night off and conserve their energy for Saturday’s home game with the Toronto Raptors.

I don’t expect anything of the sort. Cavaliers star player LeBron James will probably do what he can to keep his team in the game. And the young super-star has pride to play for too, especially while playing against this seasons probable MVP in Dirk Nowitzki. 

To be honest, in sports anything can happen, especially in the NBA. That puts to rest the notion the Cavaliers won’t show up. Actually, they might be a good bet at +9 ½. With the total set at 189 ½ the UNDER bet doesn’t look like a bad bet either. 

The Cavaliers have won three of their last five games straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS). In their last ten games Cleveland has won in 7-of-10 ATS seven of those games cashing for the UNDER. 

Looking at the Mavericks, their record ATS isn’t as good as their SU record. As a matter of fact, they have the same record on the betting board as the Cavaliers at seven wins over their last 10 games while the UNDER has cashed for bettors in totals wagering.

The pick: Cavaliers +9 ½, UNDER 189 ½