Our Lakers vs. Mavericks NBA player props based on the best NBA odds from the best sports betting apps are fading the stars on Los Angeles following the team's In-Season Tournament championship.
The Los Angeles Lakers made a statement during their undefeated In-Season Tournament championship run. As long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy, this is a team capable of making another deep run after a 2023 trip to the Western Conference Finals.
But while the IST was a glimpse of what the Lakers could look like when the stakes are a bit higher, it's now back to reality for a team firmly in the middle of the Western Conference standings. After using so much energy to win the NBA Cup, Tuesday's road test against the Dallas Mavericks is a prime letdown spot for the Lakers.
Here are our best Lakers vs. Mavericks NBA player prop s and NBA picks, and don't forget to read our piece on how the Lakers' futures markets moved following their IST victory (odds via our
best NBA betting sites; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Lakers vs. Mavericks NBA player props
This prop became 14 cents more expensive as I was writing this while moving from -113 to -127 at Caesars. That's a sign the Under is the right side, and it's worth pouncing on as long as the points prop is 26.5 or higher based on our projection of 23 points.
You might be questioning the projection due to our last memory of Davis. The Lakers big man shouted “I'm him” to the fans in Las Vegas after scoring 41 points and collecting 20 rebounds in a 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers during the IST championship game. But unfortunately, those statistics are unofficial since that contest was technically ruled an 83rd game for both teams.
While that was arguably Davis' best game in quite some time, he's also prone to following up huge perform ances with a dud. Davis leans on his teammates to feed him the rock inside and is unable to hit a jumper at all, which does help explain his offensive inconsistencies.
The veteran was banged up in the third quarter before still playing 41 minutes on Saturday, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him rest on Tuesday. If he does play, Davis will likely be less involved offensively against a Dallas team that held him to 10 points on as many shot attempts during the previous head-to-head meeting on Nov. 22.
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The Lakers have posted the best defensive rating in the league since the calendar flipped to December, which coincides with Jarred Vanderbilt (and other plus-defenders on the wing) returning to the lineup. But it also included three si ngle-elimination IST games.
When looking at how he played, it's no secret that LeBron James wanted to win the NBA Cup. He dispatched the New Orleans Pelicans while becoming the first player in NBA history to put up at least 30 points, five assists, and five rebounds in 23 minutes or fewer. But he also brought it defensively, recording multiple steals in two of the three IST games.
Now that we're back to a regular-season game in December, it's unlikely James will be as locked in defensively. He's still averaging 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in 2023, clearing this mark in 14 of 22 games. That's why we're getting plus money on this Under.
But I think it's worth taking prior to a game when James will probably save his legs for the offensive end, especially with the number of capable defenders the Lakers now employ. With a projection just below two combined steals and blocks, this prop is should be played at +115 or better.
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Lakers-Mavericks NBA player props made 12/12/2023 at 9:45 a.m. ET.
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