The Dallas Mavericks look to prevent a three-game skid when they share the court again with the Los Angeles Lakers, who are also coming off a loss. Which between the Mavs and the Lakers will get back in the win column by the end of their date this Friday?

Catch this game live on Friday, January 13, at 11 AM, Manila time.

Away: Dallas Mavericks (23-19/7-13 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Luka Doncic
  • SG: Spencer Dinwiddie
  • SF: Tim Hardaway Jr.
  • PF: Reggie Bullock
  • C: Christian Wood

The Mavs’ roster is looking like an emergency room at the moment, as Dallas continues to deal with injuries. The good news for them is that Luka Doncic is available to play this Friday, as the Mavs look to recover from a two-game losing skid. They lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder last Monday (120-109) and then to the Los Angeles Clippers (113-101) Wednesday. No amount of losing is going to dampen the expectations on what Doncic could do on the floor to carry the Mavs. 

On the season the Slovenian superstar is averaging 34.2 points on 50.1 FG%% and 61.5 TS% while dishing out 8.7 assists and grabbing 8.9 rebounds per outing. Doncic carved up the Lakers’ defense last December for 32 points on 9/16 shooting in a 124-115 home win. Christian Wood also capitalized on an Anthony Davis-less Lakers frontcourt to drop 30 points on LA in that game.

The Mavs are 5-0-1 against the spread in their last six meetings with the Lakers.

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Home: Los Angeles Lakers (19-22/18-22-1 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Russell Westbrook
  • SG: Patrick Beverley (questionable)
  • SF: Juan Toscano-Anderson
  • PF: LeBron James (probable)
  • C: Thomas Bryant

The Lakers got tripped up by the Denver Nuggets in their last game, losing to Nikola Jokic and company on the road Tuesday, 122-109. Los Angeles didn’t have LeBron James that day, though, due to left ankle soreness. He is labeled probable for Friday’s game but he is trending positively. James had 38 points in the December loss to Dallas, with no other Lakers starter scoring more than nine points. 

Scoring support from his fellow starters might not be as pathetic this time around for LeBron, especially with Thomas Bryant turning his potential into real production on the floor. Over the last five Lakers games, Bryant averaged 20.8 points on 64.7 FG% and 12.2 rebounds. He was a non-factor in the first meeting with Dallas, but his recent surge on the court has given him the confidence he needs to shock the Mavs this Friday. Also take note that the Mavericks are terrible against the spread on the road this season. They’re just 6-14 ATS in games away from Dallas.

The Lakers are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five home games versus Dallas.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Lakers (+3) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (229.5) hits the Under.