Two of the NBA's brightest stars will meet on Thursday, with Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks traveling to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers and MVP contender Joel Embiid.
Dallas is fresh off a stunning last-second win over the Celtics and will look to continue to climb out of their early-season hole in one of the league's most difficult venues. Can the Mavs pull off another crucial win and keep rolling against Philadelphia?
Find out in our free NBA picks and predictions for Mavericks vs. 76ers on Thursday, February 25, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Dallas Mavericks at Philadelphia 76ers betting preview
Injuries
Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis PF (Questionable), Maxi Kleber PF (Questionable)
76ers: Seth Curry SG (Questionable)
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Mavericks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games. Find more NBA betting trends for Mavericks vs. 76ers.
NBA sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonPhiladelphia opened -5.5 very early this morning at PointsBet USA, dropped a couple of ticks to -4.5, then early this afternoon moved up to -5, where the line remains as of 5 p.m. ET. The 76ers are taking 63 percent of bets and 77 percent of money on the spread. "A Mavs outright victory would hurt us the most. Overall, there's higher liability across the moneyline market vs. the point spread for that matchup," PointsBet's Patrick Eichner said. The total opened at 225.5 and by lunch hour arrived at 229, where it stuck throughout the afternoon, with 72 percent of bets/75 percent of money on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameAgainst the spread (ATS) pick
The Mavericks have slowly been crawling back into the playoff picture in the West after a rough start. Winners of seven of their last 10 and two straight, Dallas is now .500 at 15-15 (13-17 ATS) and just two games back of the eighth-seed Warriors.
The 76ers rose above the rest of the Eastern Conference to begin the season and haven't looked back, even with the Nets doing everything they can to keep pace. Both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have missed time in recent weeks but Philadelphia just keeps on rolling, especially at home, where they're 13-2. However, for as strong as the 6ers have been this season, they're average against the spread (16-15-1 ATS) and consistently let teams hang around.
Both the Mavs and Doncic have begun to more closely resemble what was expected of them ahead of the season, and while it isn't exactly a generous line, their strong form has us siding with them and the points on the road.
PREDICTION: Mavericks +5.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
Prior to back-to-back Unders against the Celtics and Grizzlies, the Mavs had reeled off seven straight Overs. Doncic is one of the few players in the NBA whose presence alone more-or-less guarantees a great-to-elite offense (they recorded the best offensive rating of all time a year ago) and Dallas is starting to bear that out once again. The Mavs have averaged 119.8 points per game in February, up nearly three points from last year's average.
The 76ers are more of a mixed bag with O/U, understandable with a team that boasts two All-NBA caliber defenders in Simmons and Embiid, while the latter also features as an unstoppable force on offense. The Sixers have gone Under in three straight games, but prior to that, went Over in four straight.
Doncic is again proving capable of dragging any team into a shootout, and with Embiid answering the call on the other end, we'll take the Over here.
PREDICTION: Over 226 (-110)
Player prop pick
Barring a 76ers blowout, this one is shaping up nicely to be a dominant Embiid game, even relative to the dominant season he's been having.
There's the aforementioned Doncic factor, and the way in which Embiid will need to go bucket-for-bucket with the Mavs star.
Then there's Dallas's horrendous defense — 24th in defensive rating while giving up the eighth-most points per game.
To boot, there's the complete lack of paint presence for the Mavs, regardless of Porzingis's status. The Mavs allow the fifth-most boards per game, with their only strong rebounders part-time players.
Add it all up and you have a prop we are very comfortable taking the Over on, as one of the league's MVP contenders keeps up his career year.
PREDICTION: Joel Embiid Over 45.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-110)
Mavericks vs 76ers betting card
- Mavericks +5 (-110)
- Over226 (-110)
- Joel Embiid Over 45.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-110)
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