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With one week left in the regular season, NBA playoff seeds are still up for grabs. As a result, it’s still unclear what the matchups will be once the postseason gets underway.
Thus, sportsbooks have yet to widen their menu regarding playoff futures.
While there will be plenty of opportunities to add to your portfolio once the matchups are set, there is one futures wager that bettors might want to make sooner rather than later.
NBA playoff futures best bet
After looking almost destined to find themselves in the play-in tournament, the Dallas Mavericks are surging up the Western Conference standings.
At 48-30, the Mavericks are currently fifth in the conference, two games behind the fourth-seeded Clippers.
However, Dallas would need the Clippers to completely collapse in their last four games to have any chance to overtake them.
The Mavericks would have to make up three games in the loss column since the Clippers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, with a 2-1 edge in the season series.
Nonetheless, if the two teams meet and Los Angeles has the homecourt advantage, Dallas should still have a decent chance to advance.
The Mavericks have been on a remarkable run of late, winning nine of their past 10 games and 14 of their last 16.
While it helps when you have two superstars on the floor, like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, one could point to a much-improved defense as the reason for the Mavericks’ recent success.
Things began to turn around for Dallas following a 2-5 start after the All-Star break. During those seven games, the Mavericks had the worst defensive rating, with 126 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Since then, they have a 106.5 defensive rating — the best mark in the league over that period.
Dallas made some shrewd moves at the trade deadline by bolstering its frontcourt with the additions of center Daniel Gafford and forward P.J. Washington.
To acquire Gafford, the Mavericks sent Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick to the Wizards, while Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick went to the Hornets in exchange for Washington.
The assets the Mavericks parted with didn’t fit their short or long-term plans, so there wasn’t much downside to making the trades.
When you look at the Mavericks’ ability to now defend at the rim and switch on the perimeter, they have the necessary components to make a deep run in the postseason.
On offense, Doncic and Irving are almost unguardable with their ability to score at will and create for their teammates.
Initially, it looked like the partnership was doomed after Dallas failed to even qualify for the play-in tournament last season. However, the Mavericks used that disappointment to their advantage, and it looks like it’s starting to pay dividends.
