Tip-off: 0105, 15/11/2019
Stadium: Madison Square Garden
TV: Sky Sports
Kristaps Porzingis will expect a hostile atmosphere when he arrives at Madison Square Garden for the first time since his trade to the Dallas Mavericks from the New York Knicks.
The 2015 fourth overall draft pick moved to Dallas on January 31 after requesting a trade, something not too familiar in American sports, despite being sidelined with an ACL injury.
The Latvian played against his former side for the first time since the switch in a 106-102 home defeat last Friday – the Knicks’ only victory in the last seven matches.
However, we expect Dallas to level the series for this season with a victory by seven or more points priced at 83/100 for our first Knicks vs Mavericks prediction.
A Look At New York Knicks’ Betting Odds
The Knicks have had to reshuffle their pack once again after building for the future, with Porzingis leading the team before his controversial trade to the Mavs.
New York have not reached the NBA play-offs since the 2012-13 campaign, when they finished second in the Eastern Conference – a far cry from more recent times, where 11th is the best they have performed in the last five seasons.
David Fizdale’s team finished rock-bottom during the last campaign, the position they are currently occupying, but have been more competitive this time around after the addition of star rookie RJ Barrett from the NBA draft and Marcus Morris from the Boston Celtics.
Morris has been the cornerstone for this Knicks side, averaging 18.5 points per game, with Barrett sitting in third in points and steals, fourth for rebounds and second in assists in the rookie standings.
New York have not been high-scoring this season, though, having only passed the 100-point mark at MSG once out of four home games and another concerning stat is their poor record against the Mavs.
In their last five match-ups at this venue, New York have failed to pass 100 points in any of those contests.
Looking at the Knicks vs Mavericks odds, we like 17/20 for the hosts to get under 104.5 this time.
A Look At Dallas Mavericks’ Betting Odds
Porzingis will have something to prove on his return to New York, especially after being benched for the final stretch of his new team’s 116-10 loss at the Boston Celtics.
The seven-foot three-inch power forward made just one of his 11 attempts from the field and admitted after the defeat that he “can’t blame” head coach Rick Carlisle for pulling him, despite Dallas leading by two points early in the final quarter.
The 24-year-old recorded 28 points, nine rebounds and five blocks before being fouled out in his only contest against the Knicks, but the Mavs are not relying on the big man, as they have NBA rookie of the year Luka Doncic in their ranks.
Doncic became the youngest player to record three triple-doubles (scoring 10 or more in three statistics) and only the fifth person to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in his rookie season.
He is currently fifth for average points per game (28.3), second in assists (9.1) and 13th for rebounds (10.3) across the NBA – highlighting his importance to Dallas.
We do not anticipate a high-scoring match in New York and 21/20 for under 214.5 total match points is the final pick for our Knicks vs Mavericks betting tips – only two of the last 15 head-to-head matches have produced more!
Additional stats
Last result:
Chicago 120-102 KNICKS
Boston 116-106 MAVERICKS
Head-to-head: Mavericks 102-106 Knicks, Knicks 90-114 Mavericks, Mavericks 106-118 Knicks, Knicks 97-110 Mavericks
Join bwin today and receive up to £10 money back as a FreeBet if your first wager at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater is a loser! Terms and conditions apply.
