The Milwaukee Bucks will travel to the American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Mavericks. The game starts at 8:30 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 28 and will air on FSW and FWi.
The Mavericks were victorious over the Bulls 118-111 on Saturday. J.J. Barea led all scorers on the team with 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting. The Bucks, meanwhile, are coming off a demoralizing 111-90 loss to the Raptors on Saturday. Greg Monroe had a solid game, recording his 15th double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Khris Middleton has been on fire over the last five games for the Bucks, averaging 19.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.4 three-pointers.
The Mavericks are a heavy eight-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 200 points. The Mavericks look to build on their records of 17-13 Straight Up (SU) and 18-12 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 6-6 SU and 5-7 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. Expect Dallas to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Bucks, who lead the league with an average of 23.9 fouls per game.
On the other side, the Bucks head into the game with records of 15-16 ATS and 12-19 SU. Milwaukee has records of 4-7 SU and 6-5 ATS against the West. Milwaukee makes opponents pay for turning the ball over, ranking second in points off turnovers with an average of 19.3 per game.
This is the first meeting of the season for the Mavericks and the Bucks. The last time they played Dallas came out on top, moving its SU record against the Bucks to 7-3 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Dal, ATS Winner – Mil, O/U – Under
Notes
Dallas is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Dallas’s last 9 games at home.
Dallas is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas’s last 5 games when playing Milwaukee.
Dallas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Milwaukee.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Dallas’s last 11 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
Dallas is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
Milwaukee is 2-10 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Dallas.
On average, Milwaukee puts up 96.4 points per game (ranked 27th), while Dallas allows 101.4 points per game (ranked 18th).
Milwaukee ranks 29th in points per away game with 92.6 points, while Dallas ranks 13th in points allowed at home with 98.2.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Dallas Mavericks are a tremendous 11-2. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Milwaukee Bucks have an underachieving record of 5-14.
Dallas is a losing 6-11 when it gives up 100 or more points. Milwaukee has a 7-5 record when it reaches the century mark.
The Bucks have a defensive rating of 106.5 (ranked 27th). The Mavericks rank ninth for their offensive rating of 103.6.
The Dallas Mavericks average 98.3 possessions and 1.036 points per possession in games this season. The Milwaukee Bucks average fewer possessions with 95.9, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.006.
Dallas has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.0%. Milwaukee is an abysmal 2-15 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Dallas averages 28.0 three point attempts per game, and Milwaukee attempts 17.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Mavericks have a 12-9 record while the Bucks are winless at 0-3.
Dallas has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.65 this season (ranked sixth), while Milwaukee ranks lower at ninth with an A/TO of 1.62.
Milwaukee ranks 30th in rebounds per game with 39.9, while Dallas ranks 16th with 43.9.
Dallas is ranked sixth in defensive rebounds, while Milwaukee ranks 22nd in offensive rebounds.
Milwaukee is among the best in forcing turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 15.9% (ranked sixth). Dallas has a 6-4 record SU when its TOV% reaches 15.9% or greater.
