Dallas Mavericks vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 04/04/2024, 01:47  by Joseph King | Modified on 04/04/2024 at 02:48 in NBA Predictions

Two teams in excellent form butt heads on Thursday when the West’s fifth-place Dallas Mavericks host the East’s 10th-placed Atlanta Hawks. The Mavericks come into this contest off the back of a 104-100 away loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The defeat marked the end of the Mavs eight-game winning streak and leaves them with a record of 45-30. This still sees Dallas with a top-six seed in what is an incredibly tight race for the automatic playoff qualification spots. The hosts are currently maintaining a slim half game lead over the Pelicans in sixth and a one game lead over the Kings and Suns in seventh and eighth, respectively. There’s little margin for error in the West in a battle that is sure to come down to the final game of the season. The biggest surprise for Dallas over this current run has been their defense. It’s now been eight games since the Mavericks have allowed more than 107 points which is well below their seasonal average of 116.1 points allowed per game.

The Hawks kept their winning ways going on Wednesday with a 121-113 victory over the Detroit Pistons. It was Atlanta’s second win in a row and their sixth from the last seven games overall. The Hawks are playing some of their best basketball of the season at the moment which has been highlighted by their recent pair of wins over the first-place Boston Celtics. Atlanta has locked up at least 10th in the Eastern Conference with their 36-40 record, which means they will be partaking in the play-in tournament. However, they would certainly like to leapfrog the ninth-placed Bulls which would give the Hawks home court advantage when the two meet in the play-in tournament first round. Atlanta and Chicago are currently tied with the exact same record.