The Los Angeles Lakers travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks Friday night and Jeff Alexander says to put 1 unit on the Mavericks to cover the spread. Oddmakers from online sportsbook Bodog opened the betting line at Dallas –7.
Alexander writes: Just as it did against the Spurs two days ago, not having Bynum will really hurt against the Mavs tonight. LA has now lost 5 of its last 6 games ATS. Dallas is an unstoppable 18-3 at home this season. The Mavericks are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 home games vs. a team with a winning road record, 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5, and 7-3-2 ATS in their last 12 vs. Western Conference. LA is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. Western Conference and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. Dallas will dominate the boards and win the battle of interior scoring. LA hangs around for a while, but the Mavs will pull away down the stretch.
Public betting information shows that of the 2,115 wagers placed on tonight’s game, 64% of bettors like the Lakers to cover the 7-point spread. AccuScore also says differently, however, and says the Mavericks are 75% favorites.
Dallas’ top three scores are Dirk Nowitzki (25.6 points per game, 3.2 assists, 9.7 rebounds), Josh Howard (22.2 points per game, 2.0 assists, 8.1 rebounds) and Jason Terry (15.3 points per game, 4.7 assits, 2.7 rebounds). Los Angeles’ top three scorers are Kobe Bryant (29.6 points per game, 7.0 assits, 6.7 rebounds), Lamar Odom (14.9 points per game, 4.7 assists, 10.3 rebounds) and Derek Fisher (11.0 points per game, 3.2 assists, 2.5 rebounds).
Both teams were off yesterday and should be well rested. The Mavericks currently are in third place in the Southwest Division in the Western Conference, while the Lakers are second in the Pacific. Dallas is averaging 101.1 points per game and are allowing 96.3, while Los Angeles is averaging 107.3 points per game and giving up 101.5.
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