The 2024-25 NBA season is underway. Make sure you check out the fantastic work of Jonathan Von Tobel, who will be writing NBA features for us twice per week this year. And try to listen to A Numbers Game every morning, as Kelley Bydlon often dishes out his favorite NBA picks. But I’ll be giving out NBA best bets and player props here as often as possible, and I’ll also occasionally write up features on big news that shakes up the league. So, make sure you check out my work throughout the season. With that out of the way, let’s get into some NBA best bets and NBA player props for Thursday, November 14th.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on November 14th
NBA Best Bets Today – November 14th
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz – 9:00 pm ET
This season, Cleaning The Glass has the Mavericks at 10th in the league in points per 100 possessions (115.8) and seventh in points allowed per 100 possessions (110.8). Meanwhile, the Jazz are 29th in the league in points per 100 possessions (106.2) and 27th in points allowed per 100 possessions (119.1). There’s just a gigantic gap in talent between these two teams, and Dallas has a good plan in place for that talent on both ends of the floor. So, while I generally like backing Utah at home, I don’t see the Mavericks falling into the trap of taking this game lightly. In fact, over the last two seasons, Dallas is 6-0 against the spread when playing on the road against teams that average 108.0 points per game or fewer. And the Mavericks have won those games by an average of 14.0 points per game. If you’re not good offensively, this Dallas team won’t give you an inch. Meanwhile, the Mavericks have all the offensive firepower in the world, so they can light up a miserable Jazz defense.
Only three teams in the NBA are giving up more made 3s per game than Utah’s 14.8. Opponents are also shooting 37.2% from deep against the Jazz, and that’s the fifth-worst mark in basketball. That said, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson should all enjoy this matchup thoroughly. And when the Mavericks do put the ball on the floor, the Jazz won’t have Walker Kessler out there to protect the rim. The young rim protector is out with a hip injury.
I’m just not sure we’re going to see enough stops from Utah to keep this game respectable. And Dallas’ defense should show up coming off a loss to Golden State. While the Mavericks have an impressive advanced stats profile, they’re just 5-6 on the season. They know it’s time to start winning some games, and they need to take advantage of the easy ones.
Bet: Mavericks -8.5 (-114)
NOTE: I’m also putting in 76ers ML (-137 – 2 units) today. We’re going to see Paul George and Joel Embiid back on the floor in what feels like a must-win game against the Magic. Orlando has played well over the last week or so, which has been surprising given the absence of Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter. But it’s going to be difficult for the Magic to match up with a hungry 76ers team. I’ll get into it a bit more in Friday’s best bets story, but I’m getting this in now because I think it might continue to move.
NBA Player Props Today – November 14th
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz – 9:00 pm ET
As previously mentioned, the Jazz don’t defend the 3-point line very well. So, I wanted to jump on a 3-point prop in this game, and Irving’s is the lowest amongst the trio of him, Doncic and Thompson. That’s important to me in a game that could get out of hand by the third quarter. It’s also not like this is a tough number for Irving to reach. He has made at least three 3s in six of the 11 games that Dallas has played this season. That includes a game against this same Jazz team on October 28, when Irving went 3 for 6 from deep. Irving is also capable of creating 3s for himself off the dribble, which I like in this matchup. Utah can take Thompson away by being disciplined defensively off the ball, but the team can’t take away Irving without having elite perimeter defenders. And the Jazz don’t have anything close to that. On top of all of that, Irving made four 3s against Utah in two of the four games the teams played last season.
Bet: Irving Over 2.5 Made 3s (-102)
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2024-25 NBA Record: 51-44 (+8.11 units)
