The San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks open their seasons Thursday. Tip-off from the American Airlines Center is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NBA odds around the Spurs vs. Mavericks odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Dallas swept 4-0 last season
The Spurs went 22-60 in 2023-24, the first season of the C Victor Wembanyama era for San Antonio. The Spurs acquired F Harrison Barnes from the Sacramento Kings in July — part of a 3-team deal with the Chicago Bulls — and signed G Chris Paul, who averaged just 9.2 points per game (PPG) with the Golden State Warriors last season.
The Mavericks went 50-32 last season — good for 5th in the Western Conference — and worked their way through the playoffs before losing 4-1 to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. The highlight of their offseason was bringing in G Klay Thompson from the Warriors — part of a 6-team sign-and-trade — to form a big 3 alongside G Luka Doncic and G Kyrie Irving.
Spurs at Mavericks odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NBA odds. Lines last updated at 4:47 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Spurs +310 (bet $100 to win $310) | Mavericks -400 (bet $400 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Spurs +8.5 (-105) | Mavericks -8.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 227.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Spurs at Mavericks key injuries
Spurs
- G Devin Vassell (foot) out
Mavericks
- G Dante Exum (wrist) out
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
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Spurs at Mavericks picks and predictions
Prediction
Mavericks 111, Spurs 110
Moneyline
The Mavericks (-400) will likely beat the Spurs for a 5th straight meeting, but this line has too much vig to recommend.
PASS. Bet the spread and/or total instead.
Against the spread
While the Spurs struggled overall in 2023-24, they ended the season on a high note, covering 9 of their final 11 games. Their regular-season wins total is set at 35.5 (O: -120 | U: +100 at BetMGM Sportsbook), so the market is expecting them to take a huge step forward this year with Barnes and Paul.
Dallas was nothing special at home last season, going 26-25 ATS, according to Teamrankings.com. It will need time to fully integrate Thompson into the offense, and laying 8.5 points against an improved Spurs team seems like an overreaction to last season’s impressive playoff run.
BET SPURS +8.5 (-105).
Over/Under
Dallas was the 3rd-best Under bet when playing at home last season, going 20-31 O/U (60.8%).
San Antonio was 17-22-2 O/U in road games, the 7th-highest clip for cashing Unders. We can only assume that Wembanyama will continue to progress as a defender this season. The Paul signing also gives him another leader on the defensive end — and hopefully helps us cash this Under!
BET UNDER 227.5 (-110).
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