NEW YORK KNICKS VS DALLAS MAVERICKS – ODDS & PREDICTIONS FOR JANUARY 11, 2024

Greetings, basketball fans. Welcome back to our NBA coverage here at Latest Basketball News. One of the games on tap from Thursday night’s slate features the New York Knicks (22-15 SU, 21-15-1 ATS) taking on the Dallas Mavericks (22-16 SU, 21-17 ATS).

Here is a look at which team has the edge going into this matchup and why.

Tipoff

• When: Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 8:30 PM ET
  
• Where: American Airlines Arena, Dallas, TX
  
• TV: BSSW and MSG

New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks Odds (Via DraftKings) 

New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks Odds – Regular Season Stats & Betting Trends

Can The Knicks Push Their Winning Streak To Six Games?

New York Knicks Season Stats:

• Scoring Offense: 115.7 PPG – 13TH     
• Offensive Efficiency: 118.6 points per 100 possessions – 9TH       
• Scoring Defense: 111.7 PPG – 7TH        
• Defensive Efficiency: 114.5 points per 100 possessions – 13TH 

The New York Knicks currently hold a slim half-game lead for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference. Thanks in large part to a five-game winning streak, the Knicks have produced six wins over the last 10 outings. 

This includes a 112-84 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. In that contest, OG Anunoby – who was acquired via a trade with the Toronto Raptors – scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed four rebounds. His contributions have not gone unnoticed by head coach Tom Thibodeau.

“He’s made a great contribution, not just with defense, but moving without the ball, getting the ball up the floor fast, his shot-making, and it’s only going to get better as we go,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Julis Randle added 20 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Jalen Brunson scored just 12 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field and just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. 

Can The Mavericks Get Back On Track After Losing To The Short-handed Grizzlies?

Dallas Mavericks Season Stats:

• Scoring Offense: 118.6 PPG – 7TH   
• Offensive Efficiency: 117.7 points per 100 possessions – 10TH      
• Scoring Defense: 116.9 PPG – 20TH    
• Defensive Efficiency: 116.0 points per 100 possessions – 16TH   

On the other side of this matchup, the Dallas Mavericks find themselves in the No. 7 spot in the conference playoff race. They have posted six wins in their last 10 outings. This includes a 120-103 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies team on Tuesday night. 

Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 33 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and handed out six assists. Luka Doncic finished with 31 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Unfortunately, the duo’s production was not enough to prevent Dallas from losing to a short-handed Grizzlies squad. 

Ja Morant will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury, while Jaren Jackson Jr. was out of the lineup due to a knee contusion. 

“Their offensive rebounds — 18 — that’s way too many. Their physicality was too much for us,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said, via ESPN. “They came out, and they were assertive right off the bat. That put us in a hole, and we were playing uphill from there.”

Dallas is hoping to regroup against a Knicks team that has been playing well as of late. 

Now that we have set the table for this matchup, let us take a close look at the all-important betting trends for both sides.

The Picks

The Spread

The Knicks opened as a one-point underdog. The line now has them as a 4.5-point favorite (via pre-game.com). Here is a look at how both teams have fared against the spread this season. 

• The Knicks are 5-0 ATS in their last five games.
• New York is 4-1 ATS in its last five games against Dallas.
• The Knicks are 6-0 ATS in their last six road games against the Mavericks.
• New York is 5-1 ATS in its last six January games.
• The Mavericks are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games. 
• Dallas is 1-5 ATS in their last six matchups against Atlantic Division opponents.

Based on the above trends, going with the Knicks to cover feels like a solid choice in this matchup.

Prediction: New York Knicks (+4.5)

Over/Under

The projected over/under total for this matchup opened at 235 points. At the time of this writing, the line has moved to 233.5 points. Here is why going with the “UNDER” is the smart choice here. 

• The total has gone UNDER five times in the Knicks’ last five outings.

• In New York’s last seven road games, the UNDER total prevailed five times.

• The UNDER total has won four times in the Mavericks’ last five games.

• In Dallas’s last 15 games against New York, the UNDER cashed in 12 times.

• The total has gone UNDER six times in the Mavericks’ last eight home games. 

Prediction: UNDER 233.5 points

Prop Bets

The key player to watch for the road team is Julius Randle. He currently has -140 odds of scoring more than 27.5 points and +110 odds of scoring less than 27.5 points. 

• On the season, Randle is averaging 24.2 points per outing, 
• In 22 road games, he is averaging 24.0 PPG.
• Randle has played against Western Conference teams 12 times this season. In those contests, he is averaging 24.8 points per outing.
• In five January games, Randle is averaging 28.2 PPG. 
• In a pair of matchups against Southwest Division opponents, Randle is averaging 16.5 points per contest.
• Over his last 10 outings, he is averaging 28.2 points per outing, exceeding the projected points total for this matchup five times during that stretch. 

As the trends indicate, going with the “under” for Randle looks like the better choice here.

Prediction: Julius Randle UNDER 27.5 points

The key player to watch for the home team is Kyrie Irving. He currently has -115 odds of scoring more than 30.5 points and -115 odds of finishing with less than 30.5 points. Here is a look at how his season splits stack up against his projected scoring total for this matchup. 

• On the season, Irving is averaging 23.9 points per outing.
• In 12 home games, he is averaging 24.3 PPG.
• Irving has played against Eastern Conference teams five times this season. In those contests, he is averaging 23.4 PPG.
• In five January contests, he is averaging 27.0 points per outing. 
• Over his last 10 outings, Irving is averaging 23.5 PPG. He has exceeded the projected points for this matchup two times during that stretch. 

Going with the “under” looks like a safe bet based on these trends.

Prediction: Kyrie Irving UNDER 30.5 points

James’s New York Knicks vs. Dallas Mavericks Odds Picks

• The Spread: Knicks (-4.5)
• Over/Under: Under 233.5 points
• Player Prop Bet #1: Julius Randle Under 27.5 points
• Player Prop Bet#2: Kyrie Irving Under 30.5 points