Milwaukee Bucks vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 02/04/2022, 09:31  by Joseph King | Modified on 02/04/2022 at 16:31 in NBA Predictions

An East vs West matchup between two of the NBA’s best teams this season sees the Milwaukee Bucks host the Dallas Mavericks at the Fiserv Forum on Sunday. Both teams will be looking to bounce back after losses and improve their conference standings with the playoffs fast approaching. The defending champions Milwuakee currently sit second in the East with a record of 48-29 and trail the top seed Miami Heat by just one game. The visiting Mavs have had an excellent turnaround since starting the season slowly and have improved their record to 48-30 - good for fourth position in the difficult Western Conference. The Mavs are coming off a bizarre 135-103 loss to the Wizards In their last game while the Bucks are coming off a 152-119 loss to the Clippers but with a number of key players rested. 

Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer understandably chose to rest two-time MVP Giannis Antetekounmpo along with a number of other key players after his team played two important Eastern Conference games on back to back nights. With the early tip for this game, it would have meant his players would have had to play three games in less than 96 hours. As it stands, these players should be well-rested which has the oddsmakers favoring the Bucks by a decent margin. The Mavericks have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams since the All-Star break, going 13-6, and have seen superstar Luka Doncic playing at an MVP level. The 23-year-old Slovenian has averaged 29.8 points per game, 9.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists during that 19 game stretch. Dallas was let down by their bench in the loss to the Wizards as only Doncic and Jalen Brunson were able to crack double digits in points. Head coach Jason Kidd will need more production from his role players if they are to have any chance of upsetting the Bucks who are playing some of the best basketball in the league.