The Dallas Mavericks are in a playoff positioning battle with a few of the quality teams in the Western Conference. Realistically, they could drop into the play-in tournament or get high enough in the standings to get home-court advantage in the first round. That means every game matters. With all of that being said, Luka Doncic is out tonight due to “right ankle soreness,” which I’m choosing to read as “rest.”

Is it still a smart play to bet on the Mavs tonight? Let’s go through some odds.

All odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and are current as of 11:00 a.m. CT, March 23.

Outcome Odds

Spread: Mavs -10 (-110)

Moneyline: Mavs -490

Are the Mavericks a good basketball team without Luka Doncic? The answer is an emphatic no. But are they as bad as the Rockets? The answer is still no, but it’s closer.

Jalen Green, the Rockets star rookie has looked promising lately, and the Rockets can, at times, have a little fire to them. But Spencer Dinwiddie, Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and the cohesiveness of the Mavs should still be too much for the Rockets to top on the road.

The Mavs giving 10 points still feels a little lofty to me.

Advice: The Mavericks should win this game, but -490 for the ML isn’t worth betting on. Stay away from the spread and the moneyline (for now).

Over/Under

220.5 (-110)

With the worst defensive rating in the league, the Rockets aren’t exactly known as stoppers. And with prolific offensive talents like Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Christian Wood and Eric Gordon on the other end, I could see the Mavs losing the athleticism battle, ultimately resulting in a high-scoring night for both teams.

Advice: I’m happily betting the over.

Two-Team Moneyline Parlay

Mavs and Nets: +116

Now we get to have some fun!

The Nets are on the road tonight in Memphis, which means Kyrie Irving gets to play. Kevin Durant is also healthy. Ja Morant is out.

All that to say, the Nets should be able to walk into Memphis and straight-up out-talent the Grizzlies tonight.

Getting plus odds on both of these teams to come away with a check in the win column is too good to pass up.

Advice: This is my favorite bet of the night. It’s worth a few units.