The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder are set to meet up for a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night, and this series has been terrific. Each team has won a game on their opponent’s home floor, and the odds continue to be tight.
Dallas missed out on a great opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a loss in Game 4, and this team is dealing with some adversity. The Mavericks did steal a game in Oklahoma City, and they will be looking for a repeat performance.
Oklahoma City is the top seed in the Western Conference this season, and they looked the part in the First Round. The Thunder do need to protect home floor in this game or they will face a tough road battle.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 4.5-point betting favorites over the Dallas Mavericks in this huge Game 5 on Wednesday.
Dallas Needs to Defend
The biggest advantage that the Dallas Mavericks seems to have in this series comes on the defensive end of the floor, and they need to use that advantage. Dallas will be looking to slow down the tempo in this game, and that has worked well so far in this series.
Beyond playing great defense in this game, the Mavericks are going to need Luka Doncic to take control of this game on offense. Dallas is getting just 26.7 points per game from their star, and they need more production on Wednesday night.
Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington are having a good series for the Mavericks, but everything starts and stops with Doncic on the offensive end of the floor.
Thunder Want to Roll
The Oklahoma City Thunder put up 117 points in the series opener against Dallas, and that is the way that this team wants to play. Oklahoma City is a team that can get on a roll in a hurry, and this is going to be a big key in this game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 29.5 points per game so far in the playoffs, and he really came alive in the Game 4 win. Chet Holmgren has been a bit slowed in this series, but he can still impact the outcome of this game.
Oklahoma City has also been playing some great defense in this series, but they are looking to win games with offense.
Thunder Take Control
Dallas has been playing great defense in this series, but they are also dealing with an injured Luka Doncic. The Mavericks have proven that they have some other offensive weapons in this series, but they need their biggest star to take over this game.
Home court advantage is typically a big deal when it comes to a pivotal Game 5, and that is a boost that will help the Thunder in this game. Oklahoma City should have a big offensive performance in this game, and that will allow them to take complete control.
Bet the Oklahoma City Thunder -4.5 as they are going to roll to a big win over the Dallas Mavericks on their home floor.
