Philadelphia 76ers vs Dallas Mavericks: the lineup problems to affect the performance

The Sixers lost their last 2 home games and now they will try to break the losing streak by beating the Mavericks at home. The bookmakers favor Philadelphia — will the expectations come true?

The Sixers have won 7 of their last 10 regular-season games, although they have been alternating wins and losses lately. James Harden has had his share of bad games, but overall he has fit in well. Over the past month, Harden has averaged 22.8 points and 10.6 assists. Tyrese Maxey has become a full-fledged 3rd option on offense, and Tobias Harris has gone a bit to the 2nd line. Joel Embiid is experiencing back problems and his participation in the game against Dallas is questionable. It's good that Danny Green is back, as Philadelphia's bench isn't the longest one right now. Last game Doc Rivers' team had a hard time defeating Cleveland, 118-114. Embiid, Maxey, Harden, and Harris combined for 100 points and three of them shot over 50% from the field.

The Mavericks have won 8 of their last 9 regular-season games, and now share 4th place with Utah in the Western Conference. Spencer Dinwiddie is in decent shape, recording 17.9 points per game on 43.1 percent shooting from three-point range and 54.7 percent two-point shooting as a Mavericks player. Spencer made several key shots in the final seconds which is very encouraging coming into the playoffs. Tim Hardaway is still in the sideline and Reggie Bullock will be out for personal reasons. Bullock also did not play against Boston and Brooklyn but Dallas defeated these serious opponents on the road, 95-92 and 113-111.

In the last 10 head-to-head encounters, Dallas defeated Philadelphia seven times. The last meeting held at the beginning of February this year saw the Mavericks win 107-98. Sterling Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Maxi Kleber, and Sterling Brown were in the injured reserve list, while the Sixers had to do without Ben Simmons, Shake Milton, and Furkan Korkmaz.

• Philadelphia won 5 of 10 home matches;
• Dallas won 8 of the last 10 away matches.

Both teams have lineup problems, and it's not uncommon for nearly all of their points to come from their starting five. Dallas has to do without their two main stars, and it's not certain that Spencer Dinwiddie will still be as stable. Philadelphia is a little more versatile right now, but a lot will depend on whether Embiid plays. Either way, this matchup is unlikely to be high-scoring, with both opponents doing a good job on defense. I suggest placing a bet on the following outcomes:

• H1 (-2.5) for 1.84;
• TU (219.5) for 1.696;
• Luca Doncic TO (30.5) for 1.90.