Mavs @ Lakers! Luka vs. LeBron should be a blast to watch on TNT Thursday

The games of the night appeared to be the Celtics visiting Brooklyn and the Bucks in Miami, but with no Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin, they lose a little luster. Therefore, the Luka Doncic vs. LeBron James show on TNT’s late game looks like the marquee matchup of the night. 

Luka is blowing away LeBron’s numbers thus far at the same stage of their careers and both players are going to be motivated to make a statement. The Mavs will be without Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber, as usual, while Dwight Powell is questionable with his hip injury. Luka is averaging 34.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists through his four January games and should be ready to go head-to-head with LeBron tonight. Christian Wood will look to bounce back from his 12-point, three-rebound performance against the Clippers on Tuesday, while Tim Hardaway Jr. and Spencer Dinwiddie hope to help Luka out on the scoring end of things. Luka had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists (50 total) in his last meeting with the Lakers and had 43 points, 11 rebounds and seven dimes (61) on Tuesday. We like him going over 53.5 combined points, rebounds and assists tonight on national TV. If he plays anything like he did on Tuesday, it shouldn’t be that big of an ask. The Mavs have dropped three of their last four games but will be determined to get back on the winning track against LeBron and company. 

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The Lakers will have a motivated LeBron James tonight, while Pat Beverley, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker are all out with injuries. LeBron going over 31.5 points looks like a no-brainer for the short-handed Lakers and this one will be a blast to watch on TV. Thomas Bryant is averaging 20.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks in his five January games and should also fare well against a center-less Mavs team tonight. The Lakers are streaking with five wins in their last six games and will have home-court advantage tonight. 

The Lakers are undefeated against the spread (with a tie) over their last five games, while the Mavs have lost four of their last five against Vegas. The Mavericks should be rested and ready to go and this game will likely come down to Luka vs. LeBron. And while both are hot, we still think Luka will show out and the Mavericks will win in the end. If the Lakers had a healthy Anthony Davis, our pick would probably be going the other way. 

Pick: Mavs -3.5

Prop 1: Luka Doncic Over 53.5 combined points, rebounds and assists -104 at FanDuel

Prop 2: LeBron James Over 32.5 points -110 at FanDuel 

Prop 3: Thomas Bryant Over 26.5 combined points and rebounds -113 at FanDuel

Other Props We Like

Jimmy Butler Over 23.5 points -120 at FanDuel. The Heat will be without Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin so Butler will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting. He’s scored 35, 26, 20 and 27 points in his last four games so he would have easily hit the over in three of those. And there’s no Giannis to protect the rim. Additionally, Butler has hit 40-of-42 free throws over his last three games so he won’t have to shoot it particularly well from the floor to come through tonight. 

Max Strus Over 16.5 points. No Tyler Herro should work in Strus’ favor and he had 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four 3-pointers in Tuesday’s win. 

Victor Oladipo is a fine fantasy play tonight and is averaging 16 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.4 3-pointers in his last five games. Maybe he’s ready to finally stay healthy and produce for the Heat. He should be considered a hot fantasy pickup right now, especially with all of Miami’s injury concerns. 

Terry Rozier Over 21.5 points -112 at FanDuel. Rozier is hot right now, averaging 27.8 points over his last five games. And with no Gordon Hayward, should be ready to keep it going and score a bunch of points for the Hornets tonight.