5 BOLD Mavs Predictions Between Now and the ASG

Before deciding on this article topic, I was leaning towards a game-by-game prediction & breakdown of the Mavs’ 4 remaining matchups before All-Star Weekend (@PHI, @NYK, vBOS, vLAL). After contemplating back and forth for 30 minutes on which away game I thought they would lose, I decided to save myself the embarrassment of making finite, recorded, semi-educated (uneducated) guesses.

Hence, the 5 bulletpoints below – 5 BOLD Mavs predictions between now and the All-Star Game:

1) Dallas will go 3-1 (I know, I know… if it was really a "BOLD" prediction I would have said 4-0…): As stated above, I couldn’t decide whether or not I believed in the Philadelphia hype or would succumb to my love of Linsanity. So here lies my 3-1 prediction, with a road split and two strong wins at home against the Celtics and Lakers to create some momentum heading into the 2nd half of the season. This would put the Mavs at 22-12 – not too shabby considering that 1-4 start.

2) Lamar Odom will have a 20 point game: With the recent injuries to West & Terry, LO should see extended minutes and some quality time with the ball in his hands. Lamar’s season high stands at 19 (vs. UTAH on 1/27), a performance that Mavs fans hoped would be a turning point in his mediocre season. In my eyes, this guy can only get better as he improves his conditioning and forgets about how much he loved being a Laker.

3) Dirk will not miss a single free throw: Admittedly so, this one is more for fun than anything else. After witnessing Dirk miss 4 free throws at home against the Clippers, my love of prop bets created this beauty. (In case you’re wondering the odds I would put on it – Dirk WILL miss a free throw in the next 4 games: -250; Dirk WILL NOT miss a free throw in the next 4 games: +210). Frequency alone will probably lead to the failure of this one.

4) Jeremy Lin will have less than 20 points AND less than 10 assists on Sunday: I’ll do my best J-Lin pick-and-roll impression on this one, and dish it off to Cuban (aka Tyson Chandler) - "For obvious reasons, I hope Linsanity comes to an abrupt and screeching end when we play them on Sunday."

5) Dallas will beat LA by 8 points or more: The line hasn’t been released yet, but I’m guessing it will be somewhere around -4 (for those that aren’t gambling addicts, this means that the Mavs will be favored to win by four points). I am going to double that, anticipating an emphatic win in this playoff rematch on ESPN. The Mavs are 6-2 in rebound games against teams they previously lost to (DEN: 2-0, OKC: 1-1, MIN: 1-1, SA: 1-0, LAC: 1-0).