Today's Rockets vs. Mavericks odds, picks, and predictions

Rockets vs. Mavericks odds

Here's everything you need to know Rockets vs. Mavericks upon Sunday, April 7th – our Expert predictions and betting picks For today's game.

The Houston Rockets will take on their cross-state rival Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon. Despite the Rockets' impressive 11-game winning streak that kept their playoff hopes alive, Houston's playoff chances are all but doomed after losing four games since then, including Thursday's loss to the Warriors. became.

Armen Thompson (ankle) is likely to play, but the status of some of the Mavericks' key players is more in question. Luka Doncic (knee) missed the last game. It appears it was more precautionary than anything serious, but he is still listed as suspicious in the report. Maxi Kleber (back) also missed the last game and could miss Sunday's matchup, while Josh Green (ankle) will not play.

Let's take a closer look nba odds and, Rockets vs. Mavericks selection.

The Rockets need to win all five of their remaining games to be considered for the play-ins, a nearly impossible path to the No. 10 seed. Golden State would have to lose for Houston to qualify, and considering the Warriors play the Jazz on Sunday night, Houston's hopes could be dashed as early as 8pm PT. But even if Utah pulls off the upset, the Warriors will face the Blazers on Thursday and then face the Jazz. Also Next Sunday. The Warriors aren't going to finish the season 0-5, and the Rockets know it.

This leaves doubts about their motivation. The Rockets may already be ready. Over the last five games (just before the losing streak started), the Rockets' defense is third-worst. This may not seem like a large sample size, but it can give you a good idea of ​​how the team has been playing lately, so it's the sample size to weigh when calculating your totals. Despite their rough defensive effort, the Rockets are playing at a slower pace (97.4) compared to their season-long rating (99.4).

The Mavericks' playoff outlook isn't that simple. They currently sit as a No. 5 seed, and unless Oklahoma City completely collapses against the Hornets on Sunday night, the best-case scenario would likely be a No. 4 seed.

Dallas is probably looking at No. 4, 5 or 6, but the difference between the No. 4 and No. 6 seeds is important because it means home court advantage in the first round.

The Mavericks have a reason to give it their all until the end. They trail the Clippers by just two games and lead the Suns by one. After Sunday, they have back-to-back games in Charlotte and Miami, a home game against the Pistons, and a potentially meaningless game in Oklahoma City the following Sunday. If they win against the Rockets, the Mavericks will be looking for three wins and four wins in their remaining five games, but the back-to-back games in Miami will be their toughest schedule yet.

The season is coming to an end, and Doncic's MVP season is coming to an end. He leads the league in points per game, and the remaining five games are his chance to make a final push. Nikola Jokic is the clear favorite to win, but Doncic may not care about the betting odds. If he plays, which I believe he will, he should get some scoring practice against this shaky Houston defense.

Due to various things, I am away from the team for this match. It's hard to know if Houston will punt at the first sign of trouble in this game, so I'd be cautious about beating the Rockets. Dallas is by far the team in my opinion, and Houston's chance to save the season came at home against the Warriors, who trailed by 23 points.

If Doncic plays, I'll take over as his point prop. Many books have this score set at 30.5 points, but I think this is an overreaction to his recent totals of 25 and 30 points against the Hawks and Warriors. But in the last game against the Rockets, Doncic scored 47 points on just 30 shots. He has cleared 30.5 in his last five games against Houston, and I expect his dominance to continue Sunday night.

choose: Luka Doncic 30.5 points or more

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