NBA Best Bets: Mavs Have Value as Home Underdog

The Clippers and Mavericks both enter Tuesday night's game on five-game winning streaks, but here's why siding with Dallas as a home underdog is the right play.

There are only two NBA games for us to sweat tonight, but there is value to be had. The Mavericks and Clippers play in the evening's marquee matchup, while the Nuggets host the Wizards in the nightcap.

Los Angeles Clippers at Dallas Mavericks: Mavericks +1.5

The Dallas Mavericks have been very impressive to start the season. Luka Doncic is a legit MVP candidate and the Mavs looks like they can make some noise in the Western Conference this season. The Clippers have also lived up to the hype, for the most part. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have fit in nicely, and Clipper fans are thinking championship in 2020. Tonight's matchup opened up with the Clippers as 2.5-point favorites. Most of the placed bets on this game favor the Clippers, yet the line has moved to Clippers -1.5.

Los Angeles, who is currently on a five-game winning streak, has been terrible on the road this season, as it only has one victory away from Staples Center in five attempts. Doc Rivers’s team is giving up 119 points per game when it plays on the road. Dallas is streaking right now, as it also comes into tonight's game on a five-game winning streak. More impressively, the Mavericks are 5-0 against the spread in that same timeframe. I like the Mavericks to win this straight up, I will be betting them +1.5 as well as on the moneyline.

Washington Wizards at Denver Nuggets: Wizards +10.5

As we head into the month of December, both the Wizards and the Nuggets are the teams that we thought they would be. Washington is struggling to find its way, while Denver is looking like a Western Conference playoff team. The Nuggets, like the aforementioned Clippers and Mavericks, are also on a five-game winning streak. The Nuggets have a dominant home-court advantage—they are 7-2 at home and only allow 101 points per game to visiting opponents.

Washington, as you would expect, is only 2-5 on the road this season, as it gives up 117 points per contest when it plays on the road. On paper, this looks very much like a blowout waiting to happen, but when you dig a little deeper into the numbers, you notice that the Wizards are 5-1-1 against the spread on the road this season. The reason for this is simple: When people see Washington playing on the road, they blindly bet against them no matter what the number is, which causes bookmakers to move the number more toward Washington. This creates value, and this is exactly why the Wizards are so good against the number on the road.

Tonight's game opened up with the Nuggets as 9.5-point favorites, and they have since been bet up to 10.5 favorites, I would wait to bet this game right before tip-off, you may be able to get Washington at +11.5. Another bet I like in this game is Nikola Jokic to record a triple double, FanDuel Sportsbook has it at +410. Jokic will easily get a double-double, as Washington plays at such a high pace and gives up so many points that Jokic should very well have over 10 assists.

Season Record: 23-28