Philadelphia 76ers vs Dallas Mavericks 2/4/22: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds, Predictions

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Dallas Mavericks Matchup Preview (2/4/22)

Dallas hosts the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night at American Airlines Center in a non-conference matchup between two of the hottest teams in basketball. Unfortunately, the Mavericks have cooled off a bit since their huge win streak, and part of that can be attributed to injuries to Tim Hardaway Jr and Kristaps Porzingis. These are two key starters and the second and fourth leading scorers for Dallas when they are on the floor. This has placed additional weight on the back of Luka Doncic, who has had three straight fantastic games despite losing in two of them. Meanwhile, the Sixers have a ton of positive momentum and are sitting at third in the Eastern Conference. They have won five of their past six games, with their only loss being by three points to the Washington Wizards. Joel Embiid is playing the best basketball of his career, and the Sixers’ supporting cast has stepped up over the past month. This game should be a barnburner, so check out further analysis under the betting odds header.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Dallas Mavericks Betting Odds

I like for Philadelphia to control this game. Matisse Thybulle is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game and one of the few players who could potentially contain Luka Doncic. Without Porzingis and Hardaway Jr, Dallas should struggle to score. The Mavs certainly don’t have the frontcourt depth necessary to stop Joel Embiid either. This one should be somewhat straightforward. I’ll take the Sixers against the spread, assuming that star forward Kristaps Porzingis does not play for the Mavs.

TV Schedule

Date: 2/4/22
Time: 10:00 PM ET
Arena: American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
Channel: ESPN

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Philadelphia 76ers Starting Lineup

PG: Tyrese Maxey
SG: Danny Green
SF: Matisse Thybulle
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Joel Embiid

Philadelphia 76ers Analysis

Philly had won five straight before dropping its most recent game to the Washington Wizards by three points. The Sixers were significantly outrebounded, which has been an issue for this team all season as they rank dead-last in the NBA in rebounding. Additionally, Washington shot it pretty well, including 46% from the field and 41% from behind the arc. Still, Philly only lost by three points, so it just as easily could be 6-0 in its last six games. The next step for the Sixers is to improve offensively: right now, they are outside of the top ten in every major offensive statistical category. If they want to have a shot at winning the Eastern Conference, they will have to be an elite shooting team with incredible efficiency, especially since they play at such a slow pace.

Dallas Mavericks Starting Lineup

PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Jalen Brunson
SF: Dorian Finney-Smith
PF: Maxi-Kleber
C: Dwight Powell

Dallas Mavericks Analysis

Just when the Dallas Mavericks started to get red hot and put all of the pieces together, they lost Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr to injuries and have since dropped three of their past five games. The Mavs are still fifth in the Western Conference and are getting unbelievable play out of Luka Doncic, but they need to be healthy to truly be a contender. Luckily, Porzingis’ injury is not severe and has been labeled a bone bruise; however, he may not be available for this game. Hardaway is out for the season, which hurts the Mavs’ scoring. Still, as long as Luka Doncic is on the floor, anything can happen. The Mavs’ most recent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder does not make me feel too great about the current state of this team, though.

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Dallas Mavericks Daily Fantasy Picks

The MVP-frontrunner and heart of the Philadephia 76ers, Joel Embiid, has recently been on an absolute tear. How good has Joel Embiid been in his past 20 games? Well, he has averaged roughly 34 points, 11 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on over 54% from the floor during that span. It’s hard to justify anyone besides Nikola Jokic being a real MVP candidate right now because of how well Embiid has played, but you never know. Embiid’s usage percentage is exceptionally high, which should continue to be the case, as he is the reason this team is vying for a top seed in the Eastern Conference. Without Embiid, this team would be sub-500, so they are playing through him anytime he’s on the floor. It’s important to emphasize how well Joel is playing; he’s had 40 points, 42 points, and 50 points in three of his past six games. No other player in the NBA is doing that. Trust the process and plug him into your lineup for this favorable matchup against a spotty defensive frontcourt in Dallas.

It’s going to be all about the “Luka Show” for a while longer, since the Mavericks will be without Tim Hardaway Jr and possibly Kristaps Porzingis as well. They also will likely be without Sterling Brown, but he does not play much of a role for this Dallas squad at the moment. Hardaway Jr and Porzingis make up for almost 35 points per night for the Mavericks, and Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Josh Green aren’t going to make up much difference on the offensive end, forcing Doncic to play an even more significant role than usual. Last game, the names mentioned above, besides Doncic, totaled 22 points in 117 minutes. That’s not exactly a substantial contribution from any of them. Reggie Bullock and Jalen Brunson have stepped up in scoring for Dallas, but at the end of the day, everything revolves around Doncic. It’s not ideal or recommended to try and plug in Doncic and Embiid into your DFS lineup because of how high their salaries are, but choose one of those guys and roll with it. They should have big games in this matchup.