NBA Saturday Free Pick - Knicks vs Mavs

It seems etched in stone that it will be another playoffs-less season for the New York Knicks, and to make matters worse, they draw the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday for a tough weekend game with a team that is streaking towards a possible Western Conference playoff run on the road.

The last thing a battered, depressed team like the Knicks needs at this time of year is a road trip down south to Texas, but that's exactly what they'll get as the Mavericks are eagerly awaiting a chance to beat up the Knicks and take home an easy win while perhaps getting some rest in for their starters, which is much-needed.

With that in mind, the Mavericks look like a good bet to cover the spread against the Knicks, as the two teams will jump it up at 8:30 p.m. In Dallas, the site of this year's All-Star game.

The Mavericks will most likely try and put the Knicks away early so they can get some rest, and that bodes well for those betting on the Mavericks against the NBA betting spread.

With the Mavericks coming in as the favorite, some pressure could end up on their shoulders; it's always a risk. But the Mavericks are used to playing as the favorite and seem to do pretty well in that role as evidenced by their success in the Dirk Nowitzki/Mark Cuban era.
Jason Kidd won't have too much trouble matching up with Chris Duhon. Although Duhon is fairly quick and a good defender he's not in the same class as Kidd even at Kidd's advanced age.

That could be an important area to keep an eye on. The Knicks were just 8-21 on the road heading into their matchup on Friday night on road during the 2009-2010 NBA season, but they do have a scrappy team led by Jared Jeffries, David Lee, Duhon, and other guys who still have a college mindset when they step out on the court.

That type of team could be successful if LeBron James for example makes his way to the Big Apple next year but for now the Knicks are badly outgunned.

The Knicks will need a monumental effort to cover the college basketball spread against a good Mavs team on the road, but the Mavs have a big edge going into this NBA betting matchup making them the best pick.

NBA betting pick: Dallas Mavericks win, 109-88.