Dave Malinsky
GAME: Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers Mar 15, 2009 3:30PM
SPORT: National Basketball Assoc.
PICK: under
Offered at: 211
REASON FOR PICK: 4* #882 L.A. LAKERS/DALLAS Under
The very best Totals in the NBA come in games in which both teams are working for our purposes. And we can also thank Alvin Gentry and the mindless Phoenix defense for helping to keep this value where it is, despite the fact that the Suns will not be on the court.
Rick Carlisle does not want to play fast here. It is not just a case of his team being over-matched in terms of the top-level talent, but that depth is a major issue for his Mavericks. Without Josh Howard, Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse there are precious few options off the bench, and by keeping Jason Terry in that role, and inserting Jose Barea in the starting lineup alongside Jason Kidd, it gets games off to a stodgy start – opponents can key on Dirk Nowtizki early, and dare the other Mavs to score. But having two point guards on the floor also helps Carlisle to manage tempo, and that is his goal in these games – Dallas is on a 7-1 run to the Under in the last eight as road underdogs. The only variance? A win at Phoenix this week when they knew that they could best perform by running through the sieve-like Sun defense, which means that the true read on the recent form is 7-0.
So Carlisle wants to play it slow early. What helps us late is that Phil Jackson will gear down the same way with a lead. It is “season management” time for the Lakers, who have a primary goal of keeping their legs as fresh as possible for games they plan to be playing in June, which means no rush to push any pace. And after holding both Houston and San Antonio in the mid-90’s in key road wins earlier this week, they have two full days to get those legs fresh to play defense here, and an ample amount of time to put a game plan together. So how is Jackson doing at managing the pace in these settings? It has been a 4-1 run to the Under as a home favorite since the All Star break (remember that we track the New Orleans result as an Under, since we only measure regulation play). The only variance? A 132-106 destruction of the hapless Sun defense, when the Lakers could not help but score at will. And longer-term the Lakers are 9-2 to the Under in their last 11 as home chalk.
The two break-out games that these teams had in their current roles vs. Phoenix help to hide what is really going on, and it leaves us with the value that we need to cash this one.