Only 4 games are going to happen in the NBA on Saturday night and I'm going to talk about the duel between Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks. Toronto is the 8th best team in the Eastern Conference with 9 wins and 9 losses but Dallas is the 10th best team in the Western Conference with 10 wins and 9 losses. My prediction is that Dallas will cover the handicap.

Toronto lately has been hit by an injury bug. For quite some time, Pascal Siakam hasn't been able to help the team, Precious Achiuwa will be out for more than 10 games and it is official that last year's Rookie of the year Scottie Barnes won't play tonight. Fred VanVleet is questionable for the game but he practiced, so there's a chance that he will play. If we count VanVleet in, the Raptors will miss 2 of the best 6 scorers. Toronto's recent results haven't been good as they have just 2 wins in the last 6 games. They have lost to the Thunder, Pacers, Hawks and Nets. The only wins were against Detroit and the short-handed Heat.

Dallas is struggling lately as well. They have only 1 win in the last 4 games but this is a great opportunity to get back on the winning track. The Mavericks are at full strength and they won't miss any important players. Christian Wood has been a great addition to Dallas and there are rumors that he could be put in the starting lineup. This season he averages 17 points and 8 rebounds in just 25 minutes but if he's put into the starting lineup, the minutes will increase and his performance should improve too.

The Mavericks allow just 106.5 points per game and that is the 2nd best defense in the NBA. If we look at advanced stats, Dallas has the 6th-best net rating in the league (3.1) but Toronto has the 11th-best (1.7). If we look at the last 5 games, the Mavericks have the 10th-best net rating (1.9) but Toronto's net rating is just the 21st-best (-3.1).

I'm very confident about Dallas's victory tonight. They won't miss any players and this is a great chance to bounce back from recent losses. What's even more - the Mavericks have beaten Toronto in the last 4 meetings.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

周六晚上NBA只有4场比赛，我要讲的是多伦多猛龙和达拉斯小牛队之间的对决。猛龙以9胜9负排名东部第8，小牛以10胜9负排名西部第10。我的预测是达拉斯将会弥补缺陷。

多伦多最近受到了伤病问题的困扰。帕斯卡尔·西亚卡姆已经有很长一段时间没能帮助球队了，Precious Achiuwa将缺席超过10场比赛，而且官方宣布去年的最佳新秀斯科特·巴恩斯今晚也不会出场。弗雷德·范弗利特能否参加这场比赛尚存疑问，但他进行了训练，所以他有机会上场。如果算上范弗利特，猛龙将失去6个最好的得分手中的2个。猛龙最近的成绩并不好，因为他们在过去的6场比赛中只赢了2场。他们先后输给了雷霆、步行者、老鹰和篮网。唯一的胜利是对阵底特律和人手不足的热火。

达拉斯最近也在苦苦挣扎。他们在过去的4场比赛中只赢了1场，但这是一个回到胜利轨道上的好机会。小牛队正处于全员状态，他们不会错过任何重要球员。克里斯蒂安·伍德对达拉斯来说是一个很好的补充，有传言说他可能会进入首发阵容。本赛季他场均出场25分钟得到17分和8个篮板，但如果他进入首发阵容，出场时间将会增加，他的表现也会提高。

小牛场均只让对手得到106.5分，这是NBA第二好的防守。如果我们看一下先进的数据，小牛的净效率排在联盟第六(3.1)，而猛龙的净效率排在第11(1.7)。如果我们看过去的5场比赛，小牛的净收视率排在第10位(1.9)，而猛龙的净收视率仅排在第21位(-3.1)。

我对达拉斯今晚的胜利充满信心。他们不会错过任何球员，这是一个很好的机会从最近的损失中恢复过来。更重要的是，小牛在过去的4次交锋中都击败了猛龙。