The hopes of a deep Lakers playoff run are crumbling right before our eyes. Luka Doncic just suffered a Grade 2 hamstring injury in the loss to the Thunder the other day, which rules him out for the remainder of the regular season. On top of that, their 2nd-leading scorer Austin Reaves will also be out for Sunday’s game against the Mavericks, as he deals with an oblique injury. LA opened as a 6.5 point favorite without Luka, but with Reaves out, that number is down to just 1.5 points despite them winning all 3 meetings with the Mavs in convincing fashion this season.
The Mavericks go into this game with no pressure whatsoever. Their season is pretty much in the books; the only thing left to see if Cooper Flagg can win the Rookie of the Year award. He’s improved his case with a historic 51-point performance in the loss to Orlando the other day. Another big game and a win over the Lakers would help him even more . To say that this team hasn’t had much success in home games lately would be an understatement, as the Mavs have lost 14 games in a row at American Airlines Center. They are also just 2-16 SU in 18 games vs Western Conference opponents and have covered the spread only 5 times in 15 games.
Without Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers have to somehow make up for 66.8 points here, which is what those players average combined. They had 2 days to come up with a gameplan, and head coach JJ Redick said that the team will have a practice before Sunday’s game, just so they can get a feel for each other with their top two scorers out of the lineup. It’s a tricky situation for the Lakers, one that I am not 100% sure they can overcome. Dallas has only 1 more home game left after this one, so I think they gift their fans with one more win before the regular season is over. I’m taking Dallas to win outright here.
Lakers vs Mavericks Predictions: Dallas Mavericks ML (+100) at time of publishing. Playable to -105.
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