NBA Knowledge
Friday's hot teams
-- Thunder won four of last six games (4-1 last 5AF).
-- Cavaliers won seven of their last nine games (3-1 last 4AF)
-- Toronto won five of its last six games (3-6 last 9HF).
-- Rockets won four of their last six games (2-5 last 7HF).
-- Warriors won their last six games (2-4 last 6AF).
Cold teams
-- 76ers lost nine of their last ten games (2-5 last 7HU).
-- Orlando lost five of its last seven games (9-5HU).
-- Sacramento lost six of its last seven games (6-4 last 10AU).
-- Pistons lost three of their last four (13-3 last 16HF).
-- Celtics lost four of their last five games (2-7 last 9AU).
-- Portland lost six of its last eight games (1-3 last 4AU).
-- Pelicans lost eight of their last ten games (2-7 last 9HF).
-- Minnesota lost six of its last nine games (4-4 last 8AU).
-- Mavericks lost six of their last seven games (5-4HU).
-- Suns lost four of their last five games (3-2 last 5AU).
-- Lakers lost five of their last seven games (3-2HF).
Series records
-- 76ers lost last 10 games (3-7 vs spread) with Oklahoma City.
-- Cavaliers won last ten games (10-0 vs spread) with Orlando.
-- Pistons won five of last six games with Sacramento.
-- Raptors won six of their last eight games with Boston.
-- Trailblazers won seven of last eight games with New Orleans.
-- Rockets won their last five games with Minnesota.
-- Warriors won eight of last nine games with Dallas.
-- :Lakers lost five of their last six games with Phoenix.
Totals
-- Seven of last ten Philly games went over the total.
-- Six of last eight Orlando games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last nine Sacramento games stayed under total.
-- Over is 7-2 last nine times toronto played night before.
-- Six of last seven Blazer-Pelican games stayed under total.
-- Last seven Houston-Minnesota games went over total.
-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six Golden State games.
-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six Phoenix-Laker games.
Back/backs
-- 76ers are 3-7 vs spread last 10 times they played night before.
-- Raptors are 7-5 vs spread if they played night before.
-- Portland is 6-9 vs spread if it played the night before.
-- Suns are 4-9 vs spread if they played the night before.
Armadillosports.com
Friday's Top Action
By Sportsbook.ag
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (61-6) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (34-34)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Warriors -9, Total 224
The Warriors will be going for their seventh straight victory when they face the struggling Mavericks on Friday.
The Warriors hosted the Knicks on Wednesday and came away with a 121-85 victory as 15-point favorites. Golden State has now won six straight games and the team has been absurd offensively in that span. The Warriors have shot 50% or better from the floor in five of those six games and 43% or better from the outside in five of those six as well.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, are losers of six of their past seven games. One thing this team will need to do better is rebound the basketball. Dallas has lost the rebounding battle in four straight games and the team can’t afford to give Golden State many second chances on Friday.
These teams have already met twice this season and the teams have split victories both SU and ATS in those games. The Warriors are, however, 8-2 both SU and ATS against the Mavericks in their past 10 meetings. Some trends favoring the Warriors in this game include the fact that they are 20-13-2 ATS on the road this season and 25-13-2 ATS against Western Conference opponents as well.
SF Andre Iguodala (Ankle) is going to miss this game for Golden State, but that is really the only significant injury for either team in this one.
The Warriors have been playing very well lately and they’ll be looking to stay hot with a win over the Mavericks on Friday. Golden State lost to this Dallas team earlier in the season, but that was because PG Stephen Curry (30.5 PPG, 6.4 APG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG) was hurt and did not play. He’ll be out there in this one, though, and he has been scorching hot recently. Over the past five games, Curry is averaging 28.4 PPG on 53.7% shooting from the floor and 47.5% shooting from the outside.
The Mavericks do not have an answer for him at the point guard position, so this game could get ugly if Curry can get himself in rhythm early. SG Klay Thompson (21.9 PPG) should also be able to get it going in this one. In two meetings with the Mavericks this season, Thompson is averaging 27.5 PPG on 51.4% shooting from the floor. He is a lot taller than most of the Mavericks’ guards, so he can shoot over his defenders when he is not launching from the outside.
PF Draymond Green (13.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.3 BPG) is going to need to dig in defensively in this one. He’ll be guarding Dirk Nowitzki and that is the guy the Warriors really need to slow down on Friday.
The Mavericks have really been lousy lately, but they could swing momentum their way with a win over the Warriors in this game. PF Dirk Nowitzki (18.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG) will need to have a huge game for Dallas on Friday. He has been playing extremely well in recent weeks, averaging 24.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 1.0 BPG over the past five contests. Nowitzki will, however, need to start knocking down his shots from the outside. He’s shooting just 29.2% from three over the past five games and he is capable of doing a lot more damage from there.
SF Chandler Parsons (13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.8 APG) will also need to play at a high level on Friday. He had just six points in the loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday and that was without LeBron James playing for Cleveland. He should have been a lot better in that game and his tendency to disappear has been very concerning for the Mavericks this season. He needs to be more consistent moving forward.
SG Wes Matthews (12.0 PPG, 1.0 SPG) could be the x-factor for the Mavericks in this game. Matthews is a very good perimeter defender, but he has struggled covering Klay Thompson this season. If he can find a way to contain Thompson then it would be huge for Dallas. It’d also help if Matthews can knock down some shots in this one, as he is shooting just 19.0% from the outside over the past five games and is a much better shooter than those numbers suggest.