Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview (1/12/23): Prediction, Starting Lineups, Odds
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The Los Angeles Lakers will be eager to grab a much-needed home win against the Dallas Mavericks after punting a road game to Denver, the best team in the Western Conference.
Check out an entire breakdown of this matchup below, including our betting picks and predictions, as well as the injury reports and projected starting lineups!
Dallas Mavericks Vs. Los Angeles Lakers Betting Odds
The Dallas Mavericks are three-point road favorites against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Both teams have extensive injury reports heading into this game. Patrick Beverley is day-to-day for this matchup, while Anthony Davis, Lonnie Walker IV, and Austin Reaves are listed as out for Los Angeles.
The Mavericks will miss several key rotational pieces, including Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, Josh Green, and Dorian Finney-Smith.
Dallas Mavericks Vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction
The Dallas Mavericks have won eight of their past 11 games, and the common denominator is that Christian Wood has been in the starting lineup. During that stretch, it has been clear that Wood has gotten comfortable switching back to being a starter, and the Mavs have thrived because of it.
In the past 11 games, Wood has put up a 54/40/83 shooting split while pouring in 20 points and eight rebounds. Those are elite shooting numbers, especially for a frontcourt player.
Additionally, Luka is still doing “Luka Things,” as he’s posted 39 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists per game in that span on a split of 52/37/76. Doncic is back at the top of the MVP race, and if the Mavs continue to win, he should stay there.
What is interesting about Dallas, though, is how poorly it has shot as a team outside of Luka Doncic and Christian Wood in recent games.
Those two players, Doncic and Wood, command a substantial usage in this offense, yet despite their combined 38-39% shooting from deep and 52-53% shooting from the field in that 11-game span, Dallas still has not shot well overall as a team.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have been playing solid basketball recently, and the margin in net rating between Los Angeles at home and Dallas on the road is 7.6 in favor of the Lakers. Besides a “punted” road loss to the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles had won five straight games.
The emergence of Thomas Bryant has been huge in Anthony Davis’ absence. I’ll take the Lakers and the points at home against a Dallas team that has been leaning too heavily on two guys to shoot the lights out.
Betting Trends
- Dallas is 6-14 ATS on the road in 2022-23
- Los Angeles is 9-9 ATS at home in 2022-23
- The combined over record of these two teams is 48-35 in 2022-23
Key Matchups
Is it time for “King James” to pass the crown to a potential successor? Check out which player has the advantage below as Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks head to Los Angeles to face LeBron and the Lakers.
Luka Doncic vs. LeBron James
Despite having a top-seven defense in the 2021-22 NBA season, the Dallas Mavericks have struggled to find footing on that end of the floor this year.
Dallas ranks 22nd in defensive rating so far in 2022-23 and allows the third-most points to opposing power forwards, which LeBron will certainly be playing for a large portion of the game.
Even though Doncic has been out of this world good recently, LeBron has a slight advantage in this matchup merely due to the strength, or lack thereof for the Mavs’, each team’s defense.
Doncic should go for his usual numbers, but expect a massive game out of LeBron, too. Advantage: LeBron.
Dallas Mavericks Starting Lineup
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Spencer Dinwiddie
SF: Tim Hardaway Jr
PF: Reggie Bullock
C: Christian Wood
Los Angeles Lakers Starting Lineups
PG: Dennis Schroder
SG: Patrick Beverley
SF: Juan Toscano-Anderson
PF: LeBron James
C: Thomas Bryant
Key Injuries
Dallas Mavericks Injuries: Dwight Powell (Out), Josh Green (Out), Dorian Finney-Smith (Out), Maxi Kleber (Out)
Los Angeles Lakers Injuries: Patrick Beverley (Q), Lonnie Walker IV (Out), Austin Reaves (Out), Anthony Davis (Out)
