Dallas Mavericks at Atlanta Hawks Betting Odds


Opening Line: Atlanta -3.5 / Dallas +3.5 O/U 195

Time: 7 PM EST Friday February 26, 2010 on ESPN

Tonight in a game where both teams are playing well the Atlanta Hawks host the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs have won 5 straight with their new look lineup and they may now be a real threat in the West and in their last game they beat the defending champion L.A. Lakers.

The Hawks have won 2 in row, are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and only trail the Orlando Magic by 2 games in the Southeast Division. Atlanta is tied with the Boston Celtics for 3rd place in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta has a very athletic lineup that can really get up and down the court and the new guys of Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson can really help the Mavs keep up with the Hawks.

Both teams won in their last games on Wednesday night, as the Hawks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-92 and the Mavs beat the L.A. Lakers 101-96.

This season the Hawks are 22-6 at home and 34-23 ATS and the Mavericks are 18-12 on the road and 24-34 ATS.

The Hawks have won 6 of their last 7 home games.

Caron Butler (16.7 ppg) was the big name in the trade for Dallas, but he may not play tonight after a negative reaction from medication.

Dallas is winning because of their defense, which has held opponents under 100 points for 6 straight games and has held them to only 43.6% shooting from the field since they pulled the trigger on the trade.

Brendan Haywood (9.9 ppg 10.7 ppg) has been solid since coming over from the Wizards and in 2 games against the Hawks this season he averaged 16 ppg and 9.5 rpg.

The Hawks are a solid team, but their one main weakness is that they are thin on the inside. Al Horford (13.8 ppg 9.4 rpg) will need some help in the paint tonight, as the Hawks cannot allow Haywood to have a big scoring game and kill them on the glass.

Dallas will have to play good D against a Hawks' squad that ranks 9th in the league in scoring led by Joe Johnson (21.7 ppg) and Josh Smith (15.6 ppg).

Dallas is 6-16 ATS in their last 22 games, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog, and has an Under record of 5-2 in their last 7 road games against teams with a winning home record.

Atlanta is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as a home favorite of 0.5-4.5, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a S.U. win, and has an Under record of 4-1 in their last 5 home games against teams with a winning road record.

In the last 4 meetings between these 2 teams the total has gone Under.

Our Selection : It's difficult to go against a Mavericks team that has won 5 straight. It appears that C. Butler will be back tonight after missing the Lakers game to help with the cause. Take Dallas +3


Future Betting Odds

NBA Handicapping

Dallas Mavericks at Miami Heat Odds 6-12
The Mavs are up 3-2 in this series heading to South Beach and for the Heat to force Game 7 they will have to play better in the 4th quarter, especially LeBron James. 5Dimes has the hometown Heat as 5-point favorites in Game 6 with a total of 187.

NBA Toolbox

Sportsbooks