NBA Thursday: O'Sullivan has two picks for the Dallas Mavericks at Atlanta Hawks in ATL's home opener

I know my editor warned me not to exhaust myself by picking too many games, but things were going precisely according to plan until Portland decided not to show up until the fourth quarter…I blame Fred Armisen.

We’ll downshift today with fewer plays to get back on track…

Seattle O’Sullivan 2021-2022 NBA Season so far: 6-7, -$46.10

Dallas Mavericks at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 pm Eastern

The Pick: Atlanta -134, Bet $9.75 to win $7.28; Atlanta -2 (-114), Bet $3.64 to win $3.19

Atlanta tips off their season at home hoping to build on last year’s unexpected rise to the top of the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Hawk guard Trae Young leads a deceptively well-rounded squad against a Dallas team that’s really Luka Doncic carrying the whole load. Both teams had similar records last season but by the playoffs, the Hawks were not the same team they were in December. Meanwhile, Dallas parted ways with Rick Carlisle, which I don’t take as necessarily a good sign that all’s well. The Mavericks were 21st last season in defensive efficiency. I don’t see them containing Young tonight, and Young has more help. I’ll bite small on the moneyline and smaller on the dessert-cover to get upright tonight.