Mavericks vs. Jazz prediction: NBA picks, odds, best bets Thursday

It’s a quiet night Thursday in the Association, as there’s just one game on the card with the Dallas Mavericks visiting the Jazz.Dallas is coming off a disappointing 130-127 loss to the Warriors despite having a seven-point lead during the game’s final four minutes.The Mavericks are 1-5 this season in clutch games in which the score was within five points in the final five minutes of regulation or overtime.Last season, they had the second-best winning percentage (71.9%) in that category with a 23-9 mark.Considering that Dallas has improved defensively from a 114.9 rating to 110.9, one could easily argue that it has been a bit unlucky this season.

Per ESPN’s Relative Percent Index, the 5-6 Mavericks should be closer to a 7-4 record based on their point differential.The Mavericks are nine-point favorites for this matchup, but one option that bettors should continue is to play the Jazz Under its team total.Utah’s offense has struggled massively, ranking last in efficiency with 104.5 points per 100 possessions.It’s also dead last in field goal percentage (42.7%) despite ranking 20th in 3-point field goals (12.1 per game).In their first meeting, on Oct.28 in Dallas, a 110-102 Mavs victory fell well short of the 232 total.

Collin Sexton shot 9-for-11 (81.8%) from the field that night, but the rest of the Jazz were 25-for-81 (30.9%). Thus, this is a team that’s struggling to score in a nontraditional setting.With the Jazz scoring fewer than 105 points in four of the last five meetings, backing them to stay under their team total is almost an autoplay at this point.The play: Jazz team total Under 110.5 (-110, DraftKings)Michael Arinze handicaps most major sports for the New York Post.

He’s cashed two 15-leg teasers in his betting career as well as a 12-leg parlay that included eight Little League World Series games.More recently, he accurately picked finalists in the 2024 European Championships and Copa America....