Basketball betting odds have shifted in the series between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs as the teams play in San Antonio for Game 3 on Friday night. The Spurs are the NBA betting favorite in this game that can be seen on ESPN. Basketball betting odds favor the Spurs but the Mavericks were actually a better team vs. the point spread on the road than at home. And they have done okay recently at San Antonio. The Mavericks and Spurs have split their last ten games in San Antonio. Dallas is 6-4 against the spread in those games. The teams met twice in San Antonio this season and each team won a game. The Spurs won 92-83 while the Mavericks won 112-103. Last year in this playoff series, the Mavericks won two of the three games in San Antonio.
The Spurs were 24-16-1 at home this season vs. the basketball betting line. San Antonio was respectable on defense during the season ranking 8th in the league. They were just average on offense though at 15th in the league. The Spurs are capable of putting up good numbers at home but only if they get all of their top players to score. They have not gotten everyone to show up on a regular basis and Richard Jefferson was called out for his poor performance in Game 1 of this series. The Spurs simply have to get someone other than Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to score. It was thought that Jefferson would be that player but it has not happened this season.
Dallas was simply night and day this season at home and on the road. They were terrible at home vs. the point spread but on the road they were a very profitable 26-15 vs. the NBA betting line. Dirk Nowitzki is the leading scorer for Dallas and other players are capable of scoring for Dallas including Jason Terry and Caron Butler. Dallas actually has more offensive weapons than San Antonio. If Dallas can play defense they can beat the Spurs and win this series.
The Mavericks were a team that just slightly went over the total more than they went under the total but it was not by much. In this series the Spurs may want to slow the pace down to win, especially if they don’t find some other players to score.