After losing their season opener, the L.A. Lakers don’t look like the right NBA pick for their Christmas Day game versus the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Friday, December 25, 2020 – 8:00 PM ET at Staples Center
Will basketball fans get a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings? We’ve already had our first COVID-19 postponement of the new season; Wednesday’s Rockets-Thunder game had to be put off, after James Harden visited the Canadian ballet in violation of league protocols, and three of his teammates went and got a haircut. No NBA lines for you. Let’s hope everyone keeps it together for Friday’s Christmas Day quintuple-header (cough cough money cough).
Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are in the marquee prime-time game versus LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers; the Lakers have opened as 6-point favorites on Bovada’s NBA odds board, and as you may have already guessed, we’re taking the underdogs here at the home office. Hey, it doesn’t always work out that way – but then again, it often does.
Purple And Gold And Frankincense
Fading the Lakers (52-19 SU, 36-34-1 ATS last year) was the sharp thing to do with your NBA picks back in the Showtime Era, and the reigning champions are ready for another year of big chalk. They lost Tuesday’s season-opener 116-109 as 2-point “home” faves against the Los Angeles Clippers; it wasn’t nearly as close as the score would suggest, as the Clippers were up by 17 with four minutes left before easing off the gas. James (plus-2) was the only starting Laker to finish in plus territory, and he only played 28 minutes. Get used to it.
After the shortest offseason in the history of the four major North American leagues, James is going to play limited minutes until the playoffs come around, with the (tepid) support of Adam Silver and the NBA brass. This opens the door for Dallas, whose 2019-20 campaign ended with a first-round loss to the Clippers. They’re rested, they’re younger, and they might have the best player in the league, let alone in this matchup.
Doncic Makes My Brown Eyes Blue
God bless Luka Doncic. He opened as the +300 favorite at Bovada to win this year’s MVP award, well ahead of James and Laker teammate Anthony Davis, who were tied for fourth place at +900. Of course, it would be nice if Doncic had someone as good as Davis on his side; Kristaps Porzingis (knee) isn’t quite that person anymore (no disrespect), and he’s not going to play until January as it is. At least Dwight Powell, or a version of him, is back from that awful ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered last year.
Now, before we do the right thing and fade the Lakers, we need to acknowledge that the Mavs also lost their season-opener SU and ATS, falling to the Phoenix Suns late Wednesday night. But this was a much closer contest; Phoenix won 106-102 as 1-point home faves, and Doncic only got his sea legs in the second half. This is a very, very good Suns team, by the by. Everyone should get a mulligan this year for Game No. 1, including the Lakers, but we’ll take Dallas at these odds. It’s a moral imperative. Bet accordingly, and may the sphere be with you this holiday season and well beyond.
NBA Pick: Mavericks +6 (–110) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
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