Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction: Jazz unable to stitch win-streaks, Mavs are massively shorthanded

The NBA trade window has already brought a splash and its’ ripples can resonate deep into the season. Of course, I am talking about the arrival of Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks which can change the landscape massively. The Mavericks had to give up Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and some future draft pick to acquire Irving. However, Irving won’t debut in this game when the Dallas Mavericks take on the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz enters the game after losing 108:115 against the Hawks despite a 25 points performance by Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz has won five of their last eight games but for more than three months, they have been unable to win more than two in a row. This inability to build a big winning streak has ensured that they flirt with the 50% win mark and they are currently situated at 27 wins and the same amount of losses.

Due to this, they are in an intense fight against more than half of the Conference as the picture of Western Conference from the third rank onward has been becoming exciting, and as we will hit the tail-end of the season, scenarios may go to the last day of the season to determine the Playoffs/Play-in seedings. The Jazz still has a fantastic chance of getting in, but the time has come to put up a big winning streak.

The Mavs come into this game after losing 113:119 against the Warriors despite a 25 points performance by Spencer Dinwiddie. The team was missing Doncic yet again and despite putting up a fight, the Warriors were too much for them. But the bigger development is that Dinwiddie is no more a part of the team and long-term Mavs Dorian Finney-Smith is gone too. All this was done to get Kyrie Irving, perhaps the biggest prize in the free agency.

This is a great development for the squad that has won just 28 and lost 26, a tad underwhelming return for a team that reached the Conference Finals last season. The question is if the fit of Irving and Doncic makes sense as both of them need the ball a lot in their hands. This has now become the most intriguing experiment in the league so let us see if this makes for a special run or just another deflated balloon.

• Jazz: OUT: Micah Potter. QUESTIONABLE: Jarred Vanderbilt;
• Mavericks: OUT: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans. QUESTIONABLE: Christian Wood.

There is no doubt that the Jazz has a golden chance of nabbing a win here. The Mavs are too vulnerable, missing Doncic and the newly arriving Irving, while trading away Dinwiddie means that they will have to rely upon their struggles to squeeze offense, in a scenario, where their deep bench will come into play too. That’s why I expect the Jazz to win here and predict a scoreline of 126:106 in their favor.