What happens when a team that struggles on the road meets a winless home squad? The Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz have the answer to that, as they take on each other for the second time this season. Will the Mavericks end their skid with another victory over Utah? Or, will the Jazz finally get their first home win of the season?

Catch this game live on Friday, November 14, 2024 at 10:00 AM, Manila time

Away: Dallas Mavericks (5-6/1-3 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Luka Doncic (Probable)
• Kyrie Irving
• Klay Thompson
• Naji Marshall
• Daniel Gafford

The Mavericks are coming off a memorable battle against the Golden State Warriors in the Bay Area last Wednesday. However, the Mavs failed to arrest their losing skid in that contest, as they picked up a 120-117 defeat – their third in a row. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 31 points against the Warriors while Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving generated 22 and 21 points, respectively.  Doncic is listed as probable for Thursday’s game in Salt Lake City with a right knee contusion, but the expectation is that he will ultimately suit up, as Dallas looks to end a slump.

A game against the Jazz could just be what the doctor ordered for the Mavericks, who have covered the spread in seven of their last 10 trips to Utah, dating back to 2021. Also, the Mavs beat Utah late last October at home, 110-102. The trio of Doncic, Thompson, and Irving could pop as well against the Jazz’s defense which is 26th in the league with 119.0 points allowed per game and 27th with a defensive 55.6 effective field goal percentage.

Home: Utah Jazz (2-8/0-5 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Keyonte George
• Collin Sexton
• Cody Williams
• Lauri Markkanen
• John Collins

The Jazz just want to make their fans at home have something to finally cheer about. Having lost all of their first five home games of the season, the Jazz hope that Dallas will continue to struggle this Friday. Utah is coming off a 120-112 home loss at the hands of the Phoenix Suns last Wednesday. Despite the loss, the Jazz had some promising signs in that contest, including the performance of rookie and former Duke Blue Devils star Kyle Filipowski, who came off the bench and fired 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor. 

Filipowski could have a bigger impact this time around than in the first meeting with the Mavs where he failed to score a point in only five minutes of action. Meanwhile, John Collins went off for 29 points with 10 boards and Lauri Markkanen chipped in 17 points versus the Suns. Defense is a key issue this season for Utah, but the Jazz’s offense is also lacking. The Jazz are scoring just 105.7 points per game with a poor 49.7 dFG%. All that being said, the Jazz could be catching Dallas at the right time for the rematch, as the Mavericks are having issues based on recent results.

Picks

Spread: Dallas Mavericks (-9.5)

Over/Under: Under (230.0)