Lakers at Mavericks Predictions

The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a bit of a roll lately, but has struggled on the road all season. The defending champion Dallas Mavericks are on another one of their hot rolls, hosing some defensive cohesion while securing one of the better home-court records in the league. In the second of four meetings this season, the Mavericks will look to return the favor against the Lakers in the first meeting when they host L.A. in Dallas Wednesday night. The Lakers won the first meeting this year, 73-70, in Los Angeles Jan. 16. Here is a preview on the game and my possible NBA picks for the matchup.

 Los Angeles Lakers (19-13) @ Dallas Mavericks (21-12), 9:30 p.m. ET

The Lakers have won four of their last five games, coming off a dominant 103-92 win over Portland Monday night. If there is a shortcoming, it has been on the road, where the Lakers are just 5-11 for the season and are coming off a 102-90 rout at Phoenix. Los Angeles is 2-4 in its last six road games, but the two wins were by three combined points over Boston and Toronto. The four losses have been by an average of 8.3 points. Kobe Bryant is still the league’s leading scorer (29.0 ppg) and will be the focus of the Mavs’ defense, with Andrew Bynum (16.3 ppg, 12.8 rpg) and Pau Gasol (16.6 ppg, 10.7 rpg) providing a daunting challenge on the interior for Dallas. The Lakers are the league’s top rebounding team (45.7 pg) and ranks sixth in the league in scoring defense (91.1 ppg).

The Mavericks are 7-1 in their last eight games following an 89-73 home win over Boston Monday night. Dallas has won four straight home games after dropping two straight, and has won the majority of the time with its defense. Dallas ranks fourth in the league in scoring defense (90.7 ppg) and a very-good seventh in rebounding (43.5 pg). In the first meeting with L.A. the Mavericks won the rebounding battle and held L.A. to just one made 3-pointer – but that one won the game with three seconds left (Derek Fisher). If Dallas can turn around the turnover category (it had 15 turnovers to 11 for L.A.), that may likely prove to be the difference between two very even teams. Dirk Nowitzki (19.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Brendan Haywood (5.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg) will battle enough to keep Bynum and Gasol honest, especially with their play on defense, but Shawn Marion will likely have the challenge of containing Bryant.

The current NBA odds list the Mavs as 4.5-point favorites, while the total has been set at 180.5 points. Being two excellent defensive teams, the first meeting went pretty much to script. Both teams kept the tempo slow, and neither team could hit 40 percent of their shots. Dallas had five more offensive rebounds but had four more turnovers vs. the Lakers in that first meeting. Dallas will rebound by committ5ee, while the Lakes generally rely on Bynum and Gasol to do much of the work on the glass. The Lakers have not been very successful on the road this year, posting the fifth-worst road record in the West so far. Dallas has been on a nice roll of late, and being at home should provide the advantage for the Mavericks to even this season series heading into the All-Star break. The key number will be 85 – the team that hits that number first should be the victor.

Final Score Prediction: Mavs 93, Lakers 88

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