Houston at Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks come home trailing in their opening round series vs. Houston down 2-0. They have bigger issues than that, however. Dirk Nowitzki is playing more minutes, and producing less. Rajon Rondo is now likely done as a Mav, and Chandler Parsons, who played 36 minutes in game one, is now done for the season with a knee injury. Add it all up, and Dallas is now shorthanded, and in the fact that Devon Harris is hobbled as well and their situation is dire. That should mean the Mavs are going to play a halfcourt game, and try and shorten the game, or otherwise they could be blown out, or worn down by Houston late in the game. Dallas has done so recently anyway against elite road teams as they are 7-1-1 to the UNDER in their last nine vs. a team that is better than .600 on the road. The Rockets have also been slowed vs. good teams at 5-1 to the UNDER in their last six vs. a winning team. These teams have also played to a 5-1 mark to the UNDER in the last six meetings. Take the UNDER in this one.