Looking to make a little money on opening night? Welcome to Mavs Money Making!

Gambling on sports is never easy but always fun. Or it’s always easy but never fun. I’m not sure. Either way, it’s time for the Dallas Mavericks to open their 2021-22 season, which means it’s time to take a look at all of the gambling odds you need, and also provide a little advice. Let’s get into it!

All odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and are current as of 7:30 pm CT, October 20.

Outcome Odds

Spread: Mavs +2.5 (-110)

Moneyline: Mavs +120

Trae Young and Co. surprised a lot of people last season when the Hawks made a nice, deep playoff run. They beat the Knicks and Sixers, ultimately leading them to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to the eventual champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Dallas hasn’t had that much playoff luck yet (I’m saying “luck” because the Mavericks had to play a Kawhi Leonard-led Clippers team in the first round, not the New York Knicks), but that doesn’t make the Hawks a better team.

Both of these ball clubs will likely go on to have nice 2021-22 seasons and will be poised to make some playoff noise, but on night one, I’m going with the Mavericks here. Let’s take a look at the Mavericks injury report per Brad Townsend for one of the major reasons why:

That’s right! Luka Doncic is healthy. Kristaps Porzingis is healthy. Tim Hardaway Jr. is healthy. Everyone is healthy! When the Mavs are healthy, they’re going to look like one of the best teams in the league. The trouble will come when the Mavs run into the inevitable injury issues.

Advice: Take the Mavs to win the game straight up. They won’t leave Atlanta with a loss.

Over/Under

224.5 (-110)

This is where betting on the first game of the season gets weird. Last season, the Mavs averaged… You know what? Nevermind. I was going to give you some numbers from last year, but those numbers don’t matter anymore. Players develop, rosters change, and in some cases (Dallas), teams get new coaches. Last season’s numbers mean nothing.

When it comes to betting on this game, I’d tend to lean on Game 1 jitters and take the under if you insist on betting it. But my advice would be to not bet on it.

Advice: Stay away from this one.

Two-Team Moneyline Parlay

Mavs and Warriors: +266

There aren’t many games to choose from today, but for my favorite two-team moneyline parlay, we don’t need many options. The choice is easy. In addition to the Mavs, we’re taking Steph Curry and Co. at home against the Kawhi-less Clippers.

The Warriors kicked off their 2021-22 season with an impressive road win over LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. Now, they get to play at home, riding the emotions of a season-opening win, against a Clippers squad that is going to be shaky at best for the first part of the season.

In the Dubs’ first game, Steph had an off shooting night (5-of-21 from the field, 2-of-8 from three). Do you really think he’s going to start the season off with two duds? Nah — no way.

Advice: Hammer this parlay and swim in the winnings.