Dallas at Detroit

The Dallas Mavericks really struggled in the nine games Dirk Nowitski missed with an injury. They went 2-7 straight-up. Nowitski came back last game, but the Mavs managed just 70 points in another loss. Nowitski logged just 14 minutes and is going to take time to get back in the flow. Detroit is off a win and has a winning record at home and is improving. They have covered their last four here vs. a winning team in Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and New Orleans, and won three of the four games outright. The Pistons are a live home dog here against a still struggling Mavs team, so I’m playing Detroit in this one.