NBA Christmas Day: LA Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The LA Lakers head for Dallas to meet the Mavericks on Christmas Day. Things aren’t bright for the purple and gold who are under .500 and without Anthony Davis, which is more important. AD is out indefinitely, which complicates the situation in LA. On the other side, we have the mediocre Mavs, who play much differently than expected. Differently in a negative way, because we expected to see the Mavs having a much better record than the current one. About the Christmas Day game, it’s LeBron against Luka, so it’s reasonable to see this matchup in prime time.

Preview

LA Lakers (13-19, +270) have three losses in a row. But as said, that is nothing compared to the fact Anthony Davis won’t be playing for a long time. When he fell out of the team, the Lakers began losing because AD was the best player on the squad by far.

Davis averaged 27.4 points and 12.1 boards, with a fantastic contribution on the defensive side. With him on the court, the Lakers were much tougher on the defensive side, and we’ve seen them pounding the rivals with only Davis on the court, without other superstars.

LA Lakers lost to the Suns and the Kings on the road, allowing 130 points in both events, and then suffered a defeat at home against the Charlotte Hornets, also allowing an enormous number of points, 134-130. LeBron had 34 points, 15-for-23, and eight assists, while Austin Reaves had 20 points off the bench, and Russell Westbrook 17.

Dallas Mavericks (17-16, -345) were on tour in the past four games. After losing to the Cavaliers and the Timberwolves, they bounced back in Minneapolis, defeating the hosts in their second game, and then jumped over the Rockets in Houston, 112-106. By the way the Mavs are under in five of the past six events.

Luka and the crew are 12-5 at home this year, and that’s something we expected to see from them at the American Airlines Center. They are very good against the Conference rivals lately, winning seven of the past eight contests against those teams.

Luka had 50 points in Texas. That’s right, you’ve read it well, 50 buckets. He was 17-for-30 from the field and was two boards short of a triple-double with 10 assists too. Two players had 11 points in Dallas, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Davis Bertans.

Head to Head Games

This is the first game between the Lakers and the Mavs in 2022/23. Last season they played three times, the Mavs won twice, and the LAL once. Both teams had one win in Dallas, while Mavs triumphed in the City of Angels.

Prediction

If Charlotte Hornets defeats you in your own home, that’s a problem. On top of that, the Lakers allowed 134 points, which is an even bigger issue. We don’t think the Mavs will miss the chance to knock out the LAL in prime time, and boost the morale. Also, Luka wants to beat LeBron and show that he is the leading figure in the NBA, further improving his reputation. That’s why we take the Mavs with the spread at -110 right now.

Pick: Dallas Mavericks -8.5 -110