The matchup of the night in the NBA takes place at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic host his former team – the Dallas Mavericks. 

Earlier this month, Los Angeles and Dallas executed on the wildest trades in NBA history, as Doncic was traded to L.A. for a package that included All-NBA big man Anthony Davis, guard Max Christie and a first-round pick.

The move, which has drawn a ton of criticism from Mavericks fans and the NBA community, was about as shocking as they come. Doncic, a 25-year-old perennial MVP candidate, had just led Dallas to the NBA Finals. Now, he’s going to compete against the Mavs for years to come. 

Bettors may want to jump all over the Lakers and Doncic in this matchup, especially since Dallas is fresh off of a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors and down its top three bigs in Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. 

However, can the Lakers cover what is a pretty sizable spread on Tuesday night?

Let’s break down the odds for this game, some players to consider in the prop market and my prediction for Luka’s first game against his former team. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

Moneyline

Total

Mavs Injury Report

Lakers Injury Report

Dallas Mavericks Best NBA Prop Bet

Kyrie Irving struggled shooting the ball on Sunday, as he finished with just 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, but he should be in line for a big game against a Lakers team that has some issues defending guards.

It’ll be interesting to see which Laker draws the Kyrie assignment early, but he has cleared 25.5 points in three of his last four games and four games overall since the Doncic deal. Kyrie is also averaging 26.5 points per game over that seven-game stretch. 

Los Angeles Lakers Best NBA Prop Bet

Fading LeBron James? Really?

It may not be the most exciting play, but James has cleared this line just one time in a game that Luka has played in, and he may see less time on the ball as the season goes on.

Lakers head coach J.J. Redick said this week that he wants the offense to run through Doncic with James and Austin Reaves getting time on the ball when Doncic sits. So, LeBron’s assist number may take a slight hit over the final weeks of the regular season.

In games that Luka has played in, LeBron has 15, 13, 18 and 14 rebounds and assists. Don’t be shocked if he falls just short of this number tonight. 

Has the Mavericks lack of size – and their loaded injury report – finally caught up to them?

After a strong start in the post-Luka era, the Mavs were promptly blown out by the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, slipping to just 0.5 games ahead of them for the No. 8 seed in the West.

Now, they have to face a red-hot Lakers team that exorcized some demons on Saturday by finally beating the Denver Nuggets.

Over its last 15 games, Los Angeles ranks No. 1 – yes, you read that right – in the NBA in defensive rating, a shocking turnaround since Davis didn’t play in many of those games since he was injured.

While the Lakers may not keep that up for the rest of the season, their effort on that end of the floor has really made them a dangerous team now that Doncic is in the fold.

There’s a huge motivation factor for Doncic – and his Lakers teammates – to get the All-NBA guard a win, and at the end of the day, Los Angeles’ health is massive in this game.

Simply put, Dallas doesn’t have a true center and was dominated in the painted area by Golden State on Sunday. Can it keep LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out?

I doubt it. I’ll lay the points with the Lakers in what should be the matchup of the night.  

Pick: Lakers -9 (-112 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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