Lakers vs Mavericks Odds and Picks
- The Lakers visit the Mavericks on Wednesday, December 15th
- Dallas is a 2-point home favorite despite Luka Doncic out of the lineup
- Find the odds, preview, and prediction below
The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks will both be looking to extend their respective winning streaks to three games as they meet on Wednesday, December 15th at American Airlines Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30pm ET.
LA most recently beat the Orlando Magic on Sunday, while the Mavs took down the LaMelo Ball-less Charlotte Hornets on Monday in a big 120-96 victory, despite being without superstar Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian will be sidelined once again in this contest due to ankle soreness. As for the Lakers, Anthony Davis is questionable with knee pain and Talen Horton-Tucker just tested positive for COVID-19.
Lakers vs Mavericks Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | +2 (-110) | +112 | OFF |
| Dallas Mavericks | -2 (-110) | -132 | OFF |
Odds as of December 14th at FanDuel.
Last year, the Mavs took two of three from LeBron James and Co. Dallas is a slim 2-point home favorite and has gone 12-15 ATS overall. The Lakers, on the other hand, are 5-5 as ATS underdogs.
Lakers Finding Their Way
Injuries and COVID-19 problems are still affecting the Lakers, but Frank Vogel’s squad is starting to play much better basketball. LA is 6-4 in their last 10 and just managed to take down the Thunder and Magic without Anthony Davis.
Although both of these teams are rebuilding, it’s still promising to see Los Angeles stringing together victories without the star big man.
LeBron came out with a vengeance vs Orlando, erupting for a team-high 30 points while grabbing 11 boards and dishing out 10 assists. The King showed out for 33 against OKC as well and is really starting to play at the level the Lakers need to be a serious contender.
Overall, it was a very good performance from Vogel’s group. They shot 46% from deep and 49% from the field and absolutely terrorized the Magic in the paint, outscoring them 50-36.
Horton-Tucker also posted 19 points and has proven to be a very solid rotational piece for LA. His absence will definitely be felt in the starting five. One area where the Lakers are impressing this season is in transition, sitting fourth in the league with 15.4 fastbreak points per night.
Talen dropped 19 points along with 6 steals in Sunday's #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/b5RY3wA0QB
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 13, 2021
Dallas, meanwhile, is just 15th in the Association at defending the fastbreak. This is a clear way for Los Angeles to do damage on Wednesday and it starts with Russell Westbrook and Bron thinking a step ahead and catching the Mavs shorthanded.
Mavs Winning Without Luka
Who would’ve known, but Dallas is actually winning ballgames without Doncic. Jason Kidd’s team just blew out the Thunder and the depleted Hornets by a combined 43 points and it simply comes down to serious production from the entire roster.
Against Charlotte, everyone was getting in on the action. Kristaps Porzingis went for a team-high 24 points and 13 rebounds, with five different players finishing in double-digits.
The biggest surprise though was Trey Burke, who collected 22 points in just 22 minutes of action. To put his standout night into perspective, he’s averaging just 7.4 points this season.
The Mavs were red-hot from everywhere, shooting 49% overall and a stellar 88% from the free-throw line. Even though the Hornets were missing LaMelo, essentially the rest of their rotation was playing. Yet, Dallas still went to work.
Playing for each other. #MFFL pic.twitter.com/zolNbTas8Q
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 14, 2021
These type of contributions from an array of different guys is what the Mavericks need around Luka in order to not only beat teams like the Lakers but to actually make a legitimate playoff run. It’s also a good thing to know they can stay afloat when Doncic isn’t healthy.
Lakers vs Mavericks Prediction
Both teams are in a groove right now. However, the Mavs have lost five of their last six contests on home court. That being said, I like the Lakers here on the moneyline, with LeBron and Russ leading their squad to another victory.
Pick: Los Angeles Lakers +112
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Quinn Allen is a sports journalist, with a background and education in broadcast journalism (BCIT '17). He is a full-time associate editor at ClutchPoints by day, where he writes about soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and more. At night, Quinn is a frequent contributor at SBD.
