The NBA season continues as the Golden State Warriors take on the Dallas Mavericks in a clash between two underperforming giants on Wednesday night
Both sides have been underwhelming so far this season but have been part of some major trades in recent weeks, which has seen their rosters arguably strengthened – and they will now look to kickstart their season to chase a playoff spot for the post-season.
We’ll take a look at the clash between the two sides and provide you with our best free NBA betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action on the court.
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The 2024/25 season will forever go down in Dallas as the campaign that is split into two – the first half with Luka Doncic and the second half without him.
The Mavs started the season in decent form with a 4-2 start which saw the duo of Doncic and Kyrie Irving Jr combine to become one of the most feared back-courts in the entire league. But the team then went on a run of four defeats in their next five games which had people questioning them.
But the team quickly bounced back and won 12 of their next 13 games, before a defeat to Oklahoma City Thunder. They followed that up with a win over Golden State, with Doncic hitting a triple-double in the process. The team went 3-4 over the rest of the month, to enter 2025 with a 20-13 record.
In January however, things didn’t go well as the team went 6-10 including two separate three-game losing streaks.
Dallas then shocked the world by trading Doncic in a move to bring in Anthony Davis from the LA Lakers, and have since gone 2-1 with AD leading the team for points, assists and rebounds in the last game against the Houston Rockets. Davis will be unavailable however for the next few weeks after suffering a muscle injury, in a big blow, with the Mavs coming into this one with a 28-25 record at the time of writing.
Despite having a world-class roster of options, the Warriors have largely struggled this season and come into this game with a 26-26 record at the time of writing.
The season started brilliantly as Golden State opened with a 4-1 record, including back-to-back wins over the New Orleans Pelicans. They extended that to 7-1 in November before defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, before winning five of their next six games for a 12-3 start. However, four straight defeats to end the month was the start of a downward spiral, as they then went 4-9 in December to enter 2025 with a 16-16 record.
The Warriors opened the year by going 3-4 despite the best efforts of Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins, before going 5-4 in their next nine games.
Golden State then were part of a huge trade which saw the team bring in Jimmy Butler from Miami Heat in a mega move that saw Dennis Schroder leave. Butler hit 25 points in his first game as the Warriors beat Chicago Bulls, and will be hoping to continue that good start in this game.
The form of both teams has been indifferent this season, and it’s hard to look at their meeting earlier in the season with too much accuracy considering the big changes in the rosters since then.
But the Warriors are still scoring a lot of points in their games, and it’s their defense that has been letting them down for the most part.
Steph Curry is always the main man and remains the biggest threat in the team when it comes to scoring, but with the addition of Butler to the roster they now have a two-way threat with scoring demons that compliment each other perfectly. Adding Draymond Green in the back-court too, and this team is more than strong enough to put together a run to make it to the post-season.
The Mavericks are still coming to terms with having lost their talisman and star in Doncic, and with his replacement Davis unavailable for this game there is suddenly a lot of pressure on Irving to deliver everywhere. It’s just not sustainable, so expect the Warriors to come out with a victory.
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The points total seems relatively high considering the results both teams have seen this season in their games, but the quality on show means there is every chance they pick up form and find buckets.
So far this season the Mavericks are averaging 115.53 points per game, while the Warriors are averaging 111.9 points per game. But with Doncic no longer a Mav and with Davis out, it seems highly unlikely the Mavericks will be able to keep up that level of scoring.
So far in Warriors games this season the points total has gone Under 230 points on 28 occasions, while it has gone Under 230 points on 28 occasions in Mavericks games also at the time of writing. Take it to land again here.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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