Mavericks vs Cavaliers Predictions, Player Props & Odds (Feb 2)

• Anthony Davis won’t debut for the Mavericks on Sunday against the East-leading Cavaliers
• AD is out indefinitely with an abdomen injury
• See the Dallas Mavericks vs Cleveland Cavaliers predictions, player props, and odds on Feb. 2

One day after pulling off a blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, not much will look different in the immediate future for the Dallas Mavericks (26-23, 12-13 away, 23-24-2 ATS) when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers (39-9, 23-3 home, 32-16 ATS) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (3:40 pm ET). Doncic has been out for over a month with a calf injury and Davis is sidelined with an abdominal issue. With Kyrie Irving, PJ Washington, and Daniel Gafford all listed as questionable on Sunday, the Mavs vs Cavs odds list Cleveland as a big home favorite, laying as many as 13.5 points in Sunday’s NBA odds.

Dallas Mavericks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction

• Mavericks +4.5 first quarter (-115) at BetMGM
  

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The Cavaliers have been the best team in the league against the spread all season and own the best home record, point differential, and Net Rating in the entire NBA. I don’t have any real interest in stepping in front of that train while riding the injury-depleted Mavericks as my steed.

But, as often happens after a huge trade, I expect the intensity level on the Dallas side to be ramped up at the outset of their first game back. While the movement of Doncic and acquisition of Davis dropped the Mavs down the NBA championship odds, it wasn’t a signal that management is quitting on the season. Davis is in the midst of his best career year and should be a much better complement for Kyrie Irving (24.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG) than Doncic was.

The Mavericks are clinging to the #8 seed in the West and are only a game and half from falling to 11th and out of the play-in picture entirely. There should be a real urgency to at least tread water. While they’re just 7-12 since Doncic went down on Christmas, their ceiling is still high. They own two wins over the West-leading Thunder in that span (home and road), plus victories over the Suns on the road and Lakers at home.

The Cavaliers have only won the first quarter straight-up in three of their last eight games, and have only won the first quarter by five or more points in two of those. Admittedly, they were Cleveland’s two most-recent games (at Miami and vs Atlanta) but, on the whole, the Cavs are showing signs of regressing on the whole, which isn’t unexpected given the quantum leap they took from last year to this season, especially shooting-wise (55.7% effective field-goal percentage to 58.8%).

The Cavaliers have their own long list of injuries, as well. Both Dean Wade (6.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG) and Isaac Okoro (5.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG) are out while Caris LeVert (10.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.8 APG) is listed as questionable. But none of those depth players factor much into the first quarter, so it has no real impact on my handicap here.

DAL vs CLE Player Props

NBA player props as of Feb. 2 at DraftKings. Claim the DraftKings promo code to get a bonus for Mavericks vs Cavaliers on Sunday.

With so many injuries on the Mavericks side, Kyrie is expected to carry the scoring load. He’s listed with the highest point total of the night at 25.5 points, one more than Cavs leading scorer Mitchell (23.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.7 APG). Darius Garland (21.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 6.8 APG) is the only other player over 20. Cleveland’s twin big men Jarrett Allen (13.7 PPG, 10.1 RPG) and Evan Mobley (18.2 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.9 APG) both have a rebound total of 10.5.

Best Mavericks vs Cavaliers Odds

There is a full one-point range in the Mavericks vs Cavaliers point spread at the moment. BetMGM has the best ATS option for Dallas at +13.5 (-115) while bet365 has the best ATS option on the Cavs at -12.5 (-110).

On the moneyline, FanDuel actually has the longest odds on both teams in a rarity, offering a Mavericks upset at +560 and a Cavaliers win at -770.

The game total only shows a half-point difference across sportsbooks. The lowest total is 236.5 (-115) at BetMGM, which makes it the best choice for over bettors. The highest total is 237.0 (-110) at bet365, which is the best choice for under bettors.

The NBA public betting splits show the public hammering the over in Dallas/Cleveland. As of 10 am ET, the over was getting 82% of moneyline handle on 83% of the wagers.