Mavericks vs Pelicans Prediction - NBA Picks 3/8/23

New Orleans Pelicans (31-34) vs Dallas Mavericks (33-32)

Game Info: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 7:30 pm (Smoothie King Center)

Betting Odds: New Orleans Pelicans +2.5 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Dallas Mavericks at the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday night.

The Dallas Mavericks are showing signs of improvement as they’ve won two of their last three games and they will be eager to build some momentum after sneaking past the Jazz in a 120-116 win last night. Kyrie Irving led the team with 33 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Luka Doncic added 29 points with 10 rebounds and six assists while Tim Hardaway Jr drained seven 3-pointers to finish with 24 points off the bench. As a team, the Mavericks shot 47 percent from the field and 19 of 45 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in trouble after allowing the Jazz to erase their 15-point lead, but they kept their composure and went on a decisive 11-3 run late in the fourth quarter to escape with the narrow win.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in a real slump as they’ve lost six of their last seven games overall and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting thrashed by the Kings in a 123-108 road loss on Monday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 24 points and seven assists on nine of 16 shooting, Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points with 12 rebounds and three assists while Trey Murphy chipped in with 17 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 53 percent from the field and 11 of 29 from the 3-point line as they went back and forth with the Kings in a really competitive first half, before they got blown away by 38-20 in the third quarter to fall behind by as many as 24 points.  

Looking at the betting trends, the Mavericks are 5-20-1 ATS in their last 26 games against a team with a losing record, 1-4 ATS in their last five games playing on zero days rest and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games overall. The Pelicans are 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games against a team with a winning record and 1-6 ATS in their last seven games overall.

Head to head, the over is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings in New Orleans, the Mavericks are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings in New Orleans and the Mavericks are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings overall.

The Mavericks could be shorthanded again as JaVale McGee and Reggie Bullock are both day to day, while the Pelicans are still without Zion Williamson, Larry Nance Jr and Jose Alvarado. The Mavericks have yet to hit their groove since the big acquisition of Kyrie Irving, but they’ve won two of their last three and I think they can keep building with another win against this slumping Pelicans team. You couldn’t back either team with much confidence, but the Mavericks have more talent and more to play for, so that’s where I’m leaning in this one.

Peter’s Pick Dallas -2.5

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

Mitch's Take...

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