All eyes are on Luka Doncic as he faces the Dallas Mavericks for the first time as a Los Angeles Laker, though I’m looking elsewhere for value.
The pregame narrative: The Mavericks are dealing with a rash of injuries, which doesn’t bode well for them at Crypto.com Arena. Take L.A. on an alternate spread alongside props on LeBron James and Max Christie in this +320 SGP.
Check out my Mavericks vs. Lakers same-game parlay predictions for Feb. 25.
Mavericks vs. Lakers predictions
Parlay: Lakers -2.5 | James 8+ rebounds | Christie over 11.5 points (+320)
Lakers -2.5 (-375): The Mavericks are somehow winning ballgames with Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford sidelined.
Dallas is 5-4 since trading away Doncic, having covered this number in six of its last seven.
That’s been largely thanks to the stellar efforts of Kyrie Irving (27.1 PPG in February) and the newly acquired Christie. But the Lakers have been rolling teams and are great at shutting down opposing point guards.
- Los Angeles has won 12 of its past 15 games, covering the spread in 11 of those wins. It is also 11-8 ATS as a home favourite this season.
- The Lakers allow the 8th-fewest PPG to opposing point guards, per Fantasy Pros. Don’t be surprised if Irving has a quiet night.
Doncic finally looked like himself in L.A.’s last game, scoring 32 points in 31 minutes while adding 10 rebounds and seven assists.
A blowout is well within the cards tonight.
SGP legs
James 8+ rebounds (-125): LeBron is still flying high in his 22nd season and I want to tap into his abilities as a rebounder on Tuesday.
The King is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game on the season and has been a beast on the glass in the eight games since Davis was traded.
- 8.9 rebounds per game
- 7+ rebounds in 6 of 7 games
- 8+ rebounds in 4 of 7 games
The Mavericks rank 26th in rebounding rate this month (47.0%) and have been rotating 6-foot-7 Kessler Edwards and 6-foot-6 P.J. Washington at centre.
Christie over 11.5 points (-130): Everyone is looking for — and probably betting on — a Doncic revenge game but Christie shouldn’t be overlooked.
The 22-year-old shooting guard was packaged with Davis and a first-round pick for Doncic and has been solid in eight games coming off the bench with the Mavs.
- 32.6 MPG
- 15.2 PPG
- 51.1 FG%
- 41.9 3PT%
- 15+ points in 7 of 8 games
This line seems very low considering L.A. will throw plenty of its defensive resources at Irving.
Look for Christie to his shots up against his old team.
Picks made at 10:39 a.m. ET 02/25/2025.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.