Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks Player Prop Pick: Can Kyrie Irving Shine in Game 6?
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks Player Prop Pick: Can Kyrie Irving Shine in Game 6?
The Thunder and Mavericks meet for Game 6 tonight from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. This series has been back-and-forth, as each team split their first two home games of the series before the Mavericks got a massive win on the road in Game 5 on Wednesday. The Thunder will have to fight some adversity and win on the road in Game 6 to try and close out the series in Game 7 at home. It is a tall task ahead of them and they are four-point underdogs in this game. What should we expect from the Mavericks in a closeout situation tonight?
THUNDER VS. MAVERICKS GAME 6 DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: May 18, 2024
- Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: ABC
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER VS. DALLAS MAVERICKS GAME 6 PREDICTION
One thing that has been surprising for me in this series has been the quietness of Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving exploded in the Clippers series by averaging 26.5 points per game. This is actually above his regular season average of 25.6 points per game. Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving are the two-headed dragon at the front of this Mavericks' offense, as they are the two leading scorers, but Kyrie Irving has been a disappointment in this series. Kyrie Irving is averaging 14.4 points per game over the first five games of this series, and if the Mavericks want to close this series out, I believe he will be a big part in doing so. His line has come down heavily from the first few games of this series, as he was posting lines of 24.5 points in game one and 4.5 assists. His combined points and assists line was set at 29.5 in game one. Heading into game six, it is just 25.5.
Kyrie has had a very slow series, and I believe this is a bit of an overreaction and a line that he can easily hit in Game 6 at home. Kyrie averaged 30.8 points and assists per game during the regular season and averaged 31.2 points and assists in round one. He is having a slower series, but this is a line that is easily passable for a driving force in the Mavericks offense who has been their leading score behind Luka Dončić all season and in the playoffs.
This line has come down enough that I am very comfortable taking the over. If the line was still hanging up around 30, I wouldn’t bother with this prop, but Kyrie Irving has hit this line once in this series and has gotten very close a few other times, completely disappearing for a few games as he did in Game 2 with nine points Game 4, where he also had nine points. In a closeout game for the Mavericks at home, I have a hard time believing Kyrie won’t have his hands on the ball a lot and be able to make some plays like the veteran is. I expect Kyrie to have a good Game 6 and be able to pass this low line of 25.5 combined points and assists.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER VS. DALLAS MAVERICKS GAME 6 Player Prop Pick
Pick: Kyrie Irving Over 25.5 Points + Assists -112 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.