Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Lakers 3/1/22: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds, Predictions

Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers Matchup Preview (3/1/22)

After an impressive road win against Golden State, the Dallas Mavericks will continue their road trip against the plummeting Lakers in Los Angeles. Dallas has played even better than it was before the additions of Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie. Sometimes, it can be hard to objectively judge a player’s upside on a team that is not conducive to that particular player’s talents. Chemistry is everything in basketball, and being on the wrong team can make a player look worse or better than they might play elsewhere. The Mavs certainly took a risk shipping out Kristaps Porzingis for Dinwiddie, who had not played all that great this season, and Bertans, but it seems to have worked out thus far.

The home team, Los Angeles Lakers, are in a completely different boat; they did not make any moves at the trade deadline, just lost Anthony Davis to yet another injury, and have dropped five of their past six games. Making matters worse, they got pummeled at home by nearly 30 points to the New Orleans Pelicans. Regardless, take a look below at my analysis for the game and see who I like to cover in this matchup!

Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers Betting Odds

Los Angeles does not have the depth or talent outside of LeBron James to compete with Dallas, regardless of where the game is played. Lakers fans are not bringing great energy anyways. They began booing the Lakers at a few different points during their game with the New Orleans Pelicans. The bottom line: I don’t see a world where the Los Angeles Lakers beat Dallas. The Mavs’ defense is too elite for a confused Lakers’ offense. Additionally, even if Dallas has an off night offensively and does not shoot particularly well, the Lakers’ defense is still exploitable. I’ll take the Mavs Moneyline, and the spread up to six points.

How To Watch

Date: 3/1/22
Time: 10:00 PM ET
Arena: Crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
Channel: TNT

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Dallas Mavericks Starting Lineup

PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Jalen Brunson
SF: Reggie Bullock
PF: Dorian Finney-Smith
C: Dwight Powell

Dallas Mavericks Analysis

I will be frank: the Dallas Mavericks have shocked me this season with how well they have played and the chemistry they have shown, especially recently. Over the past few months, the Mavs have been the second-best defensive team in the NBA, even though they lack a real rim protector and depth at several positions. The additions of Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie may not seem like much, but it at least gives them two rotational pieces that actually are healthy. Kristaps Porzingis never really seemed to mesh with this Dallas squad. Additionally, Porzinigis also missed a lot of time due to various injuries. This Dallas team could be scary if Dinwiddie and Bertans fit in well with the rest of the Mavs roster, and so far, so good there. Dinwiddie just posted a huge night of 24 points, five assists, and four rebounds while coming off the bench!

Los Angeles Lakers Starting Lineup

PG: Russell Westbrook
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: LeBron James
PF: Trevor Ariza
C: Dwight Howard

Los Angeles Lakers Analysis

A lot is going wrong right now for the Los Angeles Lakers. First, Anthony Davis suffered a nasty-looking ankle sprain after being back for merely ten games. Then, things got worse when the Lakers announced that he would be looking at a 4-6 week timeframe before returning at the minimum. If Los Angeles does not step up as a team in the meantime and rattle off some wins to stay competitive in a tight Western Conference, then they will get pushed out. If that happens in the next month or so, then the Lakers may not bring back Davis at all, in hopes that they can get him ready to go for the following season; there’s scarcely a reason to bring back your injury-prone best player late in the season if you are no longer in playoff contention. Unfortunately, matters became worse: the Lakers are 1-5 in their past six games and just got beat by the New Orleans Pelicans at home. If this trend continues, expect Los Angeles to keep dropping games, regardless of whether or not LeBron James plays phenomenal basketball.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers Daily Fantasy Picks

After Sunday night’s pathetic performance against the New Orleans Pelicans, it is hard to recommend DFS players from the Lakers. They are playing unmotivated basketball, and it is clear that this team is not far from checking out completely for the remainder of the 2021-22 NBA season. Still, in every NBA game, somebody will score points and put up numbers; it is inevitable. In this case, the only guy who is on the floor and consistently doing that is LeBron James. LeBron still finished with 32 points and six rebounds despite being blown out at home. His scoring barrage continues, and if he does not give up quite yet on this miserable team, perhaps we could still get some productive output from James in DFS.

I like Spencer Dinwiddie in this matchup against the poor Lakers’ defense. Los Angeles has been one of the worst perimeter defenses in the NBA; it gives up the most points, second-most rebounds, and fourth-most assists to opposing point guards. It has not been a great season for Spencer Dinwiddie. Still, he has had back-to-back impressive games for the Dallas Mavericks, posting 20 points, two rebounds, two assists against the Utah Jazz, and 24 points, five assists, and four rebounds against the Golden State Warriors. This is a great buy-low opportunity for a player who should see a much higher usage in Dallas than in Washington. Keep an eye on Dinwiddie for DFS purposes on Tuesday night.