Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks
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Battered Texas rivals square off in San Antonio.
Two of the Texas NBA teams are licking their wounds. Some of them are self-inflicted. The Dallas Mavericks traded away their franchise cornerstone, Luka Doncic, for the often-injured big man, Anthony Davis – who is, wouldn’t you know, injured. Their star point guard, Kyrie Irving is also injured, as is seemingly half of their roster. The San Antonio Spurs are without their franchise big man, Victor Wembanyama. The two injury-riddled teams will square off on the second game of a back-to-back for both squads.
The Spurs are 0-2 against the Mavs this season, but you can throw history out the window for this matchup. Neither of these teams looks the same as they did just a month ago. Dallas has lost their last five games, and San Antonio is coming off a 141-124 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both teams will look to get back on track in the first match of a two-game series in San Antonio.
Spurs Injuries: The injury report is not released until 1 p.m. CT
Mavericks Injuries: The injury report is not released until 1 p.m. CT
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The Mavericks are missing key players like Irving, Davis, PJ Washington, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford. That’s thrust bench players into key roles and hurt their depth. The Spurs will have a clear advantage when the reserves sub in. Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson would likely be starters for the beat-up Mavericks. Castle has scored 20+ points in five of his last six games. He and Johnson will be key players to watch in this game.
The Spurs were buried by the Wolves hot shooting on Sunday night. They allowed Minnesota to make 21 of 42 three-pointers. Dallas still has some sharpshooters at their disposal despite the depleted roster. Klay Thompson is one of the best shooters of all time, and Max Christie has been rock solid since suiting up for the Mavericks. San Antonio cannot let this become a shootout if they want to walk away with a victory.
Devin Vassell’s defense
Devin Vassell looked a lot better on the defensive end on Sunday. As the season wraps up, the wing’s defensive performance will be something to keep an eye on. Vassell can be a strong two-way player. Showing a concerted effort and commitment to defense, along with his shot-making, would be great for the Spurs’ future.
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San Antonio Spurs (26-36) vs. Dallas Mavericks (32-33)
March 10th, 2025 | 7:30 PM CT
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SPORTSMAVERICKS
By Brad Townsend
Sports enterprise reporter, Mavericks and NBA
Sports enterprise reporter, Mavericks and NBA
SAN ANTONIO — No Luka Doncic. No Gregg Popovich. The Mavericks.
Peculiar circumstances aplenty. The byproduct was a predictably ragged, but closely contested 133-129 Mavericks victory over San Antonio on Monday night in Frost Bank Center.
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Mavericks vs. Spurs odds, picks: NBA best bets, predictions Monday
As the season evolves, the betting market tightens. That premise is due to the simple concept of accumulating more data points, thereby making projections more accurate.
However, when drastic lineup changes occur, we have scenarios where it makes sense to disregard almost all past results that do not provide much of a baseline.
A prime example is Monday, when the Dallas Mavericks visit the San Antonio Spurs.
Stars Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Victor Wembanyama are all recently gone, significantly changing every aspect of these teams.
Thus, I believe the power ratings of both teams are soft and vulnerable, which I believe creates a path for me to build on my 31-17 ATS record in the Post sports section.
In my eyes, the Mavs are a mess.
They have lost four straight games since losing Irving to a season-ending knee injury. That was the final straw on a tumultuous stretch that started with the shocking and deflating Doncic trade, on the heels of Anthony Davis’ injury.
However, the Spurs have shown some fight with a 3-7 stretch since learning Wemby will miss the rest of the year, including Sunday’s 141-124 road setback versus the Timberwolves.
The main reason for their moderate success is they still have legit talent in De’Aaron Fox and a supporting cast that includes competitive forces in Chris Paul, Jeremy Sochan and Stephon Castle. Those guys give maximum effort and will refuse to allow any sort of apathy.
That is why I am laying the points with San Antonio.
Both played Sunday and had to travel, so that scheduling variable feels like a wash. I am backing the stronger roster with a better chance of performing to high standards.
BET: Spurs -5.5 (-130, FanDuel)
What do you think? Be the first to comment.
For more betting analysis, exclusive videos, in-game alerts and much more, please visit our page (onlyplayers.com/pluspost) solely dedicated to New York Post readers with a 50-percent discount.
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who currently serves as the Chief Content Officer for Only Players, a sports betting media company. Doug has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
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| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mavericks | +6.5 (-108) | +200 | o231 (-112) |
| Spurs | -6.5 (-112) | -245 | u231 (-108) |
