NBA Betting April 22 – Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks
There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it will shine brightly for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday when they visit the Dallas Mavericks. After two months without Anthony Davis, the Lakers expect their big man to play in this contest, though his time on the floor will be limited. It is a good sign for the defending champs as the postseason approaches and they could use one of AD or LeBron James in the lineup after going 14-16 in the games Davis missed. Bookmaker offers a generous welcome bonus (max bonus $1600).
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks
Date and Time: Thursday, April 22, 2021, 9:30 p.m. ET
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Opening NBA Odds: (Check Back Later)
Lakers at Mavericks TV Coverage: TNT
Odds Analysis
The Lakers played as an underdog in 11 of 16 games since James joined AD on the shelf last month. With LeBron still sidelined and Davis on a minutes restriction they’ll likely be catching points in this road matchup when the odds eventually surface. The Lakers went 7-9 SU and ATS during that span alternating wins and losses over the last 12 matchups. They are coming off a 111-97 loss to Utah where they failed to cover the 7-point line. With their stars injured the Lakers dropped from the No. 2 seed to the No. 5 seed in the West. The Mavs have their own issues. They lost four of five games ahead of Wednesday’s tilt with Detroit going 0-5 ATS. And they don’t have the injury issues the Lakers have, so there’s no excuse. The Mavs haven’t been very good at home either. They suffered an embarrassing 121-107 loss to Sacramento on Sunday, their fourth straight in Big D falling to 13-14 SU and 10-17 ATS inside the AAC.
Los Angeles Lakers
Davis is expected to play on Thursday, which is a big relief for him and the team. When AD left a game in Denver nine weeks ago, there was some concern the injury was more serious than it turned out to be. So, with a huge sigh of relief and countless hours of rehab, Davis is set to make his return to the floor. Somehow the Lakers managed to survive the loss of their two stars. They did drop in the overall standings, but they were so good in the early part of the season building a big enough cushion to survive.
In the absence of their top two scorers the offense has struggled. They failed to reach 100 points for the sixth time since James exited the lineup last month. Those two combine to average nearly 50 points per game. The team average has dropped to one of the lowest in the Western Conference and the UNDER is 36-22 for the season. There have been glimpses of strong play from players who wouldn’t normally get the spotlight. Talen Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 24 points on Monday and six different players have led them in scoring in a game since James was sidelined.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs are playing the second of a back-to-back after beating the Pistons on Wednesday. That probably means we won’t see Kristaps Porzinigis in this matchup since he rarely plays two games in a row. It did happen recently so there’s a chance, and his presence in the lineup would help the Mavs against LA’s stingy defense. Relying on Luka Doncic isn’t going to work all the time, though it has been successful for the most part. Doncic scored 37 points on Sunday night, but the Mavs still lost as the Kings stopped a nine-game losing streak handing the Mavs their fourth straight home loss.
A recent disturbing trend has the Mavs falling behind early and not being able to catch up. They trailed by nine points at the end of one quarter in a 12-point loss to New York and surrendered the first eight points of the game to Sacramento and never led. “We have to play harder; I have to play harder. It starts with me, so I have to play way better,” Doncic said. It’s hard to blame Doncic for the slide. He averages 28.6 points and 8.7 assists per game, but as a team the Mavs score only 111.3 points per outing.
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The recent series has belonged to the Lakers, who have won three straight and nine of the last 10 games between the clubs. And they should be uplifted by the return of Davis, though he’s likely to play only about 15 minutes. Still, having AD in the lineup beats the alternative and I expect the Lakers to rally around one of their stars as they gear up for a postseason charge.
NBA Score Prediction: Lakers 112, Mavericks 107
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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
