LeBron is like a Christmas Day tradition. He will play his first game on the 17th birthday of his career when the Los Angeles Lakers travel to Texas to take on the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic.
I’m sure Doncic will be a mainstay of Christmas in the NBA in years to come, but the Mavs are only 17-16 this season. The Lakers were worse at 13-19, and they got a piece of coal in the form of news of an Anthony Davis injury. Davis is out indefinitely with a foot injury, so things may not change anytime soon.
Let’s take a look at the odds for the second match from the Christmas Day list.
Lakers v Mavericks odds, spread and total
Lakers vs Mavericks prediction and selection
The Lakers just lost to the Hornets, 134-130 when LeBron lost his boot on the Lakers final possession and they couldn’t score to tie the game. LeBron had a good outing, but he doesn’t have much help with the way the Lakers are currently built. The other four Lakers players were Lonnie Walker IV, Patrick Beverly, Dennis Schröder, and Thomas Bryant. This looks like Victor Wimpanyama’s tank team, not trying to compete in the playoffs.
Another problem with this list is that there is no one to guard and defend Luka Doncic from the edge. Luka just went down 50, 10, and 8 on Houston and without AD, the Lakers are just as bad defensively as the Rockets. The Mavs are playing at a very slow pace, so this is worrisome when picking them to win as favorites, and the four around Luka aren’t much better than LeBron’s supportive team.
Most likely, it will be the case of any team getting hot and hitting shots on a triple kick, I trust Dallas shooters the most, so let’s ride with the Mavs.
Follow all of Josh Urich’s bets here
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The game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change
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