The Dallas Mavericks are looking to avenge the 138-115 trashing they got from the Los Angeles Lakers early in the season. It will be intriguing, though, as it looks like Anthony Davis plans to make his return against the Mavericks.

Catch this game tomorrow, 9:30 AM, Manila time.

HOME TEAM: Dallas Mavericks (30-26, 14-14 at home)

Projected Starting Five

  • PG – Luka Doncic
  • SG – Josh Richardson
  • SF – Dorian Finney-Smith
  • PF – Kristaps Porzingis
  • C – Maxi Kleber

The Mavericks are back to their stumbling ways, but it’s good that they will be coming off a good victory. On Thursday, they beat the Detroit Pistons, 127-117, for their second win in six games.

Luka Doncic led the Big D and flirted his way to yet another triple-double, finishing with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. His partner in crime, meanwhile, Kristaps Porzinigs, was had a fairly all-around night, tallying 19 points, seven boards, four assists, and three steals – he didn’t have a single turnover too.

The two other Mavericks that ought to be on the opposition’s lookout are Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith. The former has scored 20 points off-the-bench in his last two games, while latter is chipping in 15.3 points and four threes per game over his last three.

The Mavs are only 1-5 in their last six games ATS.

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AWAY TEAM: Los Angeles Lakers (35-23, on the road)

Projected Starting Five

  • PG – Dennis Schroder
  • SG – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
  • SF – Kyle Kuzma
  • PF – Anthony Davis / Markieff Morris
  • C – Andre Drummond

The up-and-down Lakers are continuing their month-long trend. They will head to tomorrow’s contest having alternated wins and losses for 12 consecutive games. It’s arguably a good stretch when you consider that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were out.

One of the interesting notes in this shorthanded squad, though expected, is the balance in scoring. In the month of April, seven Lakers are averaging double-digit points per game, and seven different guys have led the team in scoring in a single game.

It does look like Anthony Davis plans to make his return against Dallas, as he says he’s feeling good and wants to get back on the court. What remains to be seen is how many minutes he’ll actually play, and how effective he’ll be while shaking off the rust of having over two months off.

As such, it’ll be tough to gauge which Laker will lead next. Kyle Kuzma’s 15.6 PPG is pacing the team this month, and he’s followed by Dennis Schroder, Talen-Horton Tucker, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Andre Drummond, Markieff Morris, and Marc Gasol, who are all tallying between 10.4 and 15.4 PPG.

Another key stat is defense. Despite the inconsistencies and the absence of James Davis over the last 17 games, the Lakers are compiling the fourth-best defensive rating in the league since March 20th.

The Lakers are 5-3 in their last eight games ATS. Their games have gone over six times.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread:

We may see a good back-and-forth from these two, but the Mavs are not a particularly good home team and they’re playing in consecutive days. They won’t cover the -3 spread.

Over/Under:

The Mavs are on the second night of a back-to-back and they’re against a Laker team that tends to be on low-scoring games, but it’s a low-enough O/U. Go with the over on 216.5.