The Dallas Mavericks might be getting Anthony Davis back for this meeting with his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
The pregame narrative: These two teams will be linked for the foreseeable future thanks to the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic the other way. The Lakers are thriving with their new superstar and are big favourites to dispose of the Mavs in L.A.
Check out my Mavericks vs. Lakers SGP picks for Nov. 28, featuring Doncic and LeBron James.
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Mavericks vs. Lakers SGP picks
Parlay: Lakers -7.5 | James over 6.5 assists | Doncic under 34.5 points (+540)
Lakers -7.5 (-182): With or without AD, I expect the Lakers to keep rolling.
L.A. is 13-4 this season (5-2 at home) and 3-0 since the return of LeBron.
The visiting Mavericks haven’t had the same success. They are 5-14 and will for sure be without Kyrie Irving and Derick Lively tonight.
If Davis plays, I don’t expect the big man to be 100% after missing a month of action.
Dallas has been lucky with a lot of home games on their schedule, but it failed to take advantage. The team’s 1-4 away record is concerning, considering nine of their next 14 games are on the road.
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The Mavericks are a young team, so it’s unsurprising to see their road struggles. I don’t think a rusty AD changes things much.
Los Angeles has covered this spread in five of its past six wins.
NBA SGP legs
James over 6.5 assists (+105): Since LeBron’s return, he’s settled into a playmaking role to support the scoring of Doncic and Austin Reaves.
- He is averaging 8.7 assists and is 2-1 against this line. He finished with six assists in the outlier.
- The King is averaging 13.3 potential assists per game (a pass leading directly to a shot).
His raw numbers are encouraging, showing the huge potential for James as a passer.
There is always a chance for a blowout with this high spread, and that would limit James’ opportunities, but I still think he can clear this line even in fewer minutes.
-> Back Curry and Sengun on Wednesday night
Doncic under 34.5 points (-134): This final leg could benefit from this game being a blowout.
But either way, this is an astronomical line, and the only positive with the Mavericks right now is their elite defence.
- Dallas sits right around the middle of the pack, allowing 115.5 points per game, but owns the third-best defensive rating in the NBA (111.9).
- Some of the reasons they allow more points than their rating suggests are their fast pace of play and high turnover rate.
However, the Mavericks have slowed things down recently, leading to low-scoring games. They’ve allowed 109.0 PPG over their last four games.
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for Doncic to have an explosive night. He’s finished under this total in four of the past eight contests.
Mavericks vs. Lakers picks made at 10:54 a.m. on Nov. 28, 2025.
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Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.