Last Chance for Mavericks and Hawks

An optimist would give the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks a chance to not only cover the spread upon their arrival returning home, but a chance to win the game outright. The glass is half full if you consider the Mavs lost the last contest by a dozen, compared to 14 in Game 1. Following the same logic, the Hawks are all but assured of positive results since they improved from being pounded by seven points from 27 to 20. Of course that is how an optimist might look at it; here is what a realist thinks.

In case you’ve forgotten, Dallas trails 2-0 to Denver in the series, as these teams have been off since Tuesday and evidently are sufficiently rested to resume series by NBA television standards. The Mavericks were actually in Game 2 of the series, trailing just by three points as they headed into the fourth quarter. Carmelo Anthony scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth stanza, as Nuggets pulled away to win 117-105 as seven point favorites.

Dallas has had no answer for the Denver fastbreak, being outscored 54-13 in the two games. The younger and more athletic Nuggets have made the Mavs look like Dallas Cowboys offensive linemen trying to run up and down the court. Rumors surround the franchise that owner Mark Cuban is going to dismantle this group, as their championship potential is behind them.

The Mavericks are 34-9 (21-22 ATS) at home and 14-4 ATS after a combined score of 215 points or more this season. The guards must do a much better job of staying back to balance the floor and prevent so many Denver stampedes that are 3 on 1 or 4 on 2. They have to stop these explosions since the Nuggets are winning by 24.8 points per game in the playoffs to date.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle presents the tennis-card to give optimists reason for hope. "They've held serve," Carlisle said. "We go back to Dallas and we've got to do the same. We've had a few days to regroup and work on some things."

The Cuban’s have played better defense at American Airlines Arena and are 10-2 ATS in home games versus teams who attempt 18 or more three-point shots a game in the second half of the season.

The DiamondSportsbook.com oddsmakers give Dallas a fighting chance, making them 3.5-point favorites with total of 209.5. Denver has split last six encounters in Big D, coming away with four covers and is sensational 18-6 ATS facing teams with winning records in the second part of the year. Dallas is 13-5 ATS off a straight loss and will have their chance to get back into series starting at 5 Eastern on ESPN.

Later at 8 Eastern on ABC, Atlanta will try and do what many believe is nearly impossible for the Hawks right now, beat Cleveland. If you just heard the quote, you’d swear Tim McCarver had be spokesperson for the Hawks, in trying to explain what has gone wrong for Atlanta.
"We're just not playing well right now and they are playing at a high level," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "We got a chance to go home, regroup, play in front of our fans and see what we're made of." Thanks coach, for stating the obvious (a McCarver specialty).

The Hawks are 8-17 ATS off a loss by 10 or more points and have fallen to 4-9 against the number if a team has winning record. To be fair, facing Cleveland is gruesome when a team is 100 percent healthy, facing them shorthanded is plain barbaric. They missed Al Horford and forward Marvin Williams because of injuries in Game 2. If that wasn't bad enough, leading scorer Joe Johnson rolled his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return. Johnson was seen wearing a walking boot getting on the bus to fly back to Atlanta.

A real condundrum for coach Woodson is changing the mindset of the Cavaliers.
When LeBron was asked about the playoffs thus far his response was, "I'm having fun," James said. "I'm having a ball."

I don't want to say I'm surprised," James said of Cleveland's playoff dominance. "We're just a really good team. We're really confident and we believe in each other." Winning playoff games by 18.1 points per game will do that to a team. By viewing the first two games, you would come away with the impression the Cavaliers know the Atlanta playbook better than they do.

Atlanta is a 8.5-point home underdog and is 8-1 ATS after three straight covers as a favorite of seven or more points this season. They are 34-11 and 26-19 ATS in Hotlanta. Cleveland is 9-0 ATS after four straight wins by double digits and has covered a jaw-dropping 10 in a row.

The Hawks need their young players to be fast healers and guys like Josh Smith to play up to physical potential to give Atlanta a shot to return back to Cleveland. The home team has covered five of last six in this series and Atlanta is 5-1 ATS as home pooches, maybe some home cookin’ will have the Hawks take off.