Cleveland Cavs at Dallas Mavs NBA Odds

Written November 3, 2008 by Jack Jones

Cleveland looks to pick up their first road win as the head into Dallas to face the Mavericks. The Cavs have faced a difficult schedule so far this season, as they played both Boston and New Orleans on the road. Dallas is coming off a 10-point win over Minnesota and will look to pick up a big win in front of their home crowd. Dallas is a 3-point favorite with the total set at 191.5.

Cleveland has faced one team with similar to style to Dallas, in New Orleans. Many people seem to believe the Cavs have trouble scoring, but it is more of many Eastern Conference teams playing a slow style of basketball. Dallas, like most teams in the West, like to put up points every night and will play a high-paced game, something Cleveland can do with LeBron James at the helm. James has been solid in the early going has he is averaging nearly 20 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Look for James to have his first big-time scoring game in this one, as Dallas does not have a defender that will be able to hold him in check.

Dallas once again brings a high-scoring offense to the table. Dirk Nowitzki is one of the only consistent big-time scorers in the league. He is averaging 28.5 points per game this season. Nowitzki will have a huge game against the Cavs, as they have absolutely no one that can match up with him. If they put a smaller defender on him, he will be able to back them down and score at will in the paint. If the Cavs decide to go big against him, he will be able to beat his defender off the trouble and get great looks at the basket. Josh Howard and Jason Terry have also been huge for Dallas of their first two games. The two are combining for nearly 40 points per game. Look for them each to score around 20 in this one.

The Maverick’s style of play will allow Cleveland to put up easy points. This is going to be a close game and both teams will come close to score 100 points. Jay Todd‘s free NBA picks for this game says to play the OVER 191.5 between Cleveland and Dallas.

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