Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets Prediction: Peerless Luka Doncic to demolish the Rockets

The NBA Regular season has been on and for me, there have been two very interesting stories. First, the rise of the Portland Trail Blazers that have exceeded a ton of expectations, and second, the horrible start of the Golden State Warriors, a team playing some of the worst defense in the league. Both of these developments have one thing in common; unprecedented outcomes. But there is a team that has performed as expected, the Houston Rockets and they will take on the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs come into this game after beating the Clippers 103:101 as Luka Doncic stacked up 35 points and hit a late three-pointer to lift his team. The Mavericks have won two in a row and have eight wins and five losses. The Mavericks have done as expected but once again, it is Luka Doncic who is the league’s scoring leader, averaging close to a 35 points per game, truly this has been a Michael Jordan-type of start to the season for this incredible player who keeps on making defenses look flimsy.

Apart from Luka, Spencer has been a big influence, constantly scoring at a big clip. Meanwhile, Christian Wood has given the bench a lift with his consistent play but Tim Hardaway has been an unreliable scorer(shot 0-7 from three in last game). The Frontcourt of Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock is influential defensively but their offense is unreliable for most parts. Mostly, it is the offense of Doncic that carries this team but they still have a great balance on both ends.

The Rockets come into this game after losing 106:122 to the Clippers despite a 25 points performance by Jalen Green. The Rockets have been struggling on both ends and just have 2 wins and 12 losses. This has been one of the least surprising starts considering that the Rockets are in their rebuilding mode and are far from having a Playoffs type of combination. Most of their players are rookies/sophomores/youngsters and thus, their indiscipline is visible on a nightly basis.

The promise is there though. After a horrid period, Jalen Green has recovered and his ability to stack up production in limited minutes is indeed huge. Apart from him, Kevin Porter Jr is the major playmaker but his offense hasn’t taken the expected leap. Jabari Smith Jr. is raw on the offensive end but has a lot of defensive and rebounding promise. Center Alperen Sengun is a more than decent influence on the offensive and rebounding end whereas rookie Tari Eason has shown great ability to read the lanes and get steals. Kenyon Martin jr as the bench Forward is also having an incredible year thus far.

• Rockets: OUT: Jae’Sean Tate, Bruno Fernando;
• Mavericks OUT: JaVale McGee, Davis Bertans.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Luka Doncic(32+ Points), Jalen Green(22+ Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Alperen Sengun(10-13 Rebounds), Luka Doncic(8-12 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Luka Doncic(9-12 Assists), Kevin Porter Jr.(6-9 Assists), Jalen Green(5-8 Assists).

The Mavericks have performed well at home and their play still needs improvement away from home. However, against a team like the Rockets, you’d pick the Mavs to win 90% of the time. Luka Doncic has been a big influence as usual and he will be up for another big game against a weak defensive team. Jalen Green has been the hot-hand for the Rockets but he will have to work hard against the Mavs defense here. I believe Luka will outduel Green here and the Mavs will win big. I see a total points range of 217-227. My scoreline prediction for the game is 119:103 in favor of the Mavs.