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The NBA season continues with games on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Lakers will travel to take on the Dallas Mavericks. It’s time to continue our NBA Odds series and make a Lakers-Mavericks prediction and pick.
Both of these teams have had similar starts to the season. The Los Angeles Lakers are 15-13 and have won their last two games. While the Dallas Mavericks are 14-13 and have also won their last two games. This should be a fun match-up between two teams trying to extend their respective win streaks.
Here are the odds for the Lakers-Mavericks Wednesday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Lakers-Mavericks Odds
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Los Angeles Lakers: +1 (-114)
Dallas Mavericks: -1 (-106)
Over: 214 (-110)
Under: 214 (-110)
Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
The Los Angeles Lakers are having a rather interesting. Many people had the Lakers pegged to make a deep playoff run. However, some early struggles have quieted those fans and have made people more pessimistic about this team. Through their first 28 games, the Lakers have a winning record with 15 wins and 13 losses. Two of those wins came in their last two games, with the most recent win coming against the Orlando Magic by 12. The Lakers will look to carry that same energy into Wednesday’s match-up.
Los Angeles had the edge over Orlando in most categories. The Lakers did a good job of making their shots in that game, going 41 for 84 from the field, while the Magic struggled and only made 33 of 88 shot attempts. LA also shot the three well in that game, making 46.4% of their 28 attempts. The Lakers struggled, however, from the stripe, and only made 64.7% of their 17 free throws. LA was also outrebounded by 3, and more notably the Magic were able to get 8 more offensive boards than the Lakers. The Lakers put out a solid performance, but there are definitely areas they can improve upon. If LA can keep on getting better then they should be able to add a win on Wednesday.
The leader of this Lakers team is without a doubt LeBron James. LeBron is one of the best players in the league and he showed us why in their win over the Magic. He dropped a triple double on Orlando with 30 points, 10 assists, and 11 rebounds. LeBron is having another impressive season, and as this team battles with injuries they will lean even more heavily on LeBron. He is averaging over 26 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and nearly 2 steals per game. LeBron will have a huge impact on the outcome of Wednesday’s game.
Why The Mavericks Could Cover The Spread
The Dallas Mavericks have had many ups and downs this season. Through their first 27 games, they barely have a winning record at 14-13. The Mavs have been competitive against some of the toughest teams in the NBA and have also fallen short against weaker competition. Dallas was extremely impressive in their last game, as they managed to take down the Charlotte Hornets by 24. They will look to continue their win streak on Wednesday as they face another tough opponent. The Mavs have shown that they can battle and will likely come out firing in this game.
Dallas was dominant across the board in their win over Charlotte. They shot the ball very well in that game, making 43 of 83 shot attempts. Where they were most notably impressive was in their three-point efficiency. The Mavericks made 46.3% of their three-point attempts. When a team shoots that efficiently from beyond the arc it is tough for any opponent to keep up. They also outrebounded the Hornets by 12, and dished out 6 more assists. Dallas had more blocks and less turnovers, and really had an impressive overall performance in that game. If the Mavs can repeat that performance then the Lakers are definitely in trouble.
Leading the way for this Mavericks team without Luka is Kristaps Porzingis. The Unicorn has been having some great games recently, and their win over Charlotte was no exception. Porzingis had 24 points and 13 rebounds in only 25 minutes of playing time. His efficiency was off the charts and it allowed Dallas to really pull ahead. If Porzingis can continue to pick up the slack without Luka around, then this Mavs team should have no problem remaining competitive.
Final Lakers-Mavericks Prediction & Pick
The line for this game is kind of surprising. While the Mavericks had an extremely impressive performance against the Hornets, that game really seems like an outlier. The Lakers are definitely a better team than the Mavs without Luka. Unless Dallas has another insane game the Lakers should have the edge here. Los Angeles has finally been gaining some steam, with LeBron and Westbrook leading the charge they should be able to pick up the win on Wednesday. Pick Los Angeles to win and cover.
FINAL LAKERS-MAVERICKS PREDICTION & PICK: Los Angeles Lakers +1 (-114)
FINAL LAKERS-MAVERICKS SCORE PREDICTION: Lakers 114 – Mavericks 110