In two starts against the New Orleans Pelicans (26-26) this season, Dallas Mavericks (27-25) star Luka Doncic has averaged 35.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists. After finishing with his second-highest point total of the season in his last start, he'll face the Pelicans for the third time this year on Thursday night at home. Zion Williamson (hamstring) has been out since January 4, and won't be back on Thursday, but Brandon Ingram has started three of the last four games for the Pels since missing 28 games with a toe injury.
Tip-off from the American Airlines Center, where the Mavericks are 18-9 this season, is set for 8:30 p.m. ET. Dallas is favored by 5 points in the latest Mavericks vs. Pelicans odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over/under is set at 223.5. Before entering any Pelicans vs. Mavericks picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past four-plus seasons. The model enters Week 16 of the 2022-23 NBA season on a stunning 49-23 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $2,300. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Mavericks vs. Pelicans. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Pelicans vs. Mavericks:
- Mavericks vs. Pelicans spread: Mavericks -5
- Mavericks vs. Pelicans over/under: 223.5 points
- Mavericks vs. Pelicans money line: Dallas -190, New Orleans +158
- Mavericks vs. Pelicans picks: See picks here
What you need to know about the Mavericks
The Mavericks' game with the Detroit Pistons was probably closer than it should have been on Monday, but Dallas still walked away with the 111-105 win. Doncic exploded for 53 points and added eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in the victory. The only other player to score in double-digits for Dallas was Spencer Dinwiddie, who finished with 12 points and three rebounds.
The Mavericks have had a hole in their frontcourt over the last six games without Christian Wood, who has been out with a thumb injury. Dwight Powell has been filling in for him but has only scored six total points over his last two starts. However, Powell flashed some ability in the two starts he made before that when he scored 37 total points with 13 rebounds and four blocks against the Wizards and Suns.
What you need to know about the Pelicans
Williamson's absence has been killing the Pelicans, and they missed him again on Tuesday in a 122-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Herbert Jones played well in the losing effort and finished with 21 points in addition and five steals. CJ McCollum also got his points, and finished with 21 as well, along with seven assists and a steal.
In those three starts that Ingram has made since his return, he has averaged 17 points per game but has shot just 29.8% from the field. He has been even rustier from beyond the 3-point line and has made just 2-of-15 attempts from downtown. Things haven't been much better from the rest of the squad, as the team has only made 32% of their threes in the four games since Ingram has been healthy enough to play.
How to make Pelicans vs. Mavericks picks
The model has simulated Mavericks vs. Pelicans 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
Who wins Mavericks vs. Pelicans? And which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
