Rockets vs. Mavericks Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for December 23 (Dallas Exacts Revenge for November Loss)

Rockets vs. Mavericks Game Info

• Date: Friday, December 23, 2022
• Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: Toyota Center -- Houston, Texas
• Coverage: BSSW and SportsNet SW

The 2022-23 NBA season continues on Friday with 14 more games, including a battle between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. The Mavericks rank ninth in the Western Conference with a 16-16 record, while the Rockets are last with a 9-22 record. This lines up as a major mismatch.

Dallas has been struggling a bit lately, losing five of its last eight games. The Mavs are coming off a 104-99 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, though. Meanwhile, Houston has lost four straight after dropping a 116-110 battle to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Rockets vs. Mavericks Odds & Spread

Mavericks vs Rockets Betting Information

Favorite	Spread	Favorite Spread Odds	Underdog Spread Odds	Total	Over Total Odds	Under Total Odds	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline
Mavericks	-5.5	-	-	-	-	-	-240	198

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: HOU: (+225) | DAL: (-275)
• Spread: HOU: +7 (-110) | DAL: -7 (-110)
• Total: 220 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Mavericks enter this contest as clear road favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 8 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 220 points, which is below average compared to the rest of Friday's projected totals.

Rockets vs. Mavericks Betting Trends

• The Mavericks won 46 games against the spread last season, while failing to cover or pushing 36 times.
• The Rockets had an ATS record of 22-35-2 as underdogs of 5.5 points or greater last year.
• Last season, the combined scoring went over the point total 31 times in Mavericks games.
• Out of 82 Rockets games last season, 44 went over the total.

Rockets vs. Mavericks Prediction & Pick

The Mavericks need a few role players to step up over the second half of the season if they want any shot of competing in the Western Conference. No one outside of Luka Doncic is averaging more than 18 points per game, so he needs some offensive help.

The good news is that a matchup against the Rockets is a perfect opportunity for players other than Doncic to ball out. That's because Houston ranks 28th in defensive rating, 20th in opponent points per game (115.4) and 21st in opponent shooting percentage (47.5%). Its defense is simply subpar.

The Rockets are also 1-9 straight up in their last 10 games against a Southwest Division opponent, so fade them here.

Final Score Prediction: Rockets: 105 | Mavericks: 116

Rockets vs. Mavericks Best Bet

The Mavericks have found a ton of success over the last few seasons when playing at the Toyota Center. Dallas is 5-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last six away games against Houston and has earned four outright wins during that span. Each of those four wins came by at least 14 points.

Head coach Jason Kidd's team may have some revenge on its mind after losing to this Rockets squad back on Nov. 16, too. Dallas is 8-2-1 ATS in its last 11 games against a Southwest Division opponent, while Houston is 1-4 ATS in its last five games against a Western Conference opponent. Take the Mavs.

Bet: Dallas Mavericks -7 (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.