Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Vegas Play of the Day: New Orleans Pelicans at Dallas Mavericks

Mark Cuban

David Zalubowski / AP

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban jokes with forward Richard Jefferson before player introductions as the Mavericks face the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, in Denver.

March is the single biggest month on the sports betting calendar, and the South Point-lined Play of the Day hopes to make it the most profitable, too.

We’ll rely on a lot of basketball to build up our starting $10,000 bankrolls.

New Orleans Pelicans plus-7.5 at Dallas Mavericks: $220 to win $200

The absences of Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday would seem to be more meaningful than the absences of Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler.

It just hasn’t played out that way. The Pelicans are streaking without three of their top four scorers, going 5-0 straight-up and against the spread since Davis and Anderson joined Holiday on the injury list.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, have played lost offensively without Parsons, scoring 13 points below their average during the wingman’s five-game absence. They’re also challenged defensively without Chandler, losing two straight with a hip injury benching the former Defensive Player of the Year.

The natural reaction would be to write off both incidents as the perils of a small sample size, but there could be more to it. Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans are more effective with the ball in their hands, and they’ve gotten more opportunities with all the injuries.

Omer Asik also keeps the Pelicans afloat on the inside defensively. The Mavericks, meanwhile, look like a lineup of spare parts when injuries strike.

Rajon Rondo has struggled enough to adjust in Dallas without having to spend extended minutes on the floor with two other point guards — J.J. Barea and Devin Harris — and the rest of the Mavericks’ aging supporting staff.

The Pelicans should, at a minimum, hang with the Mavericks.

Standings: Keefer (67-66-2, $10,307), Bern (67-61-1, $10,106), Brewer (60-71-3, $3,565)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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