Lakers News: Betting Big As Los Angeles Does Dallas

Today at 12:30 p.m. PT, your Los Angeles Lakers head to the Lone Star State to visit Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks. This is shaping up to be a pretty critical matchup for both teams as they look to make an impact in the Western Conference.

At 28-32, a new-look LA squad is slowly but surely trending in the right direction in the West The team is still just the 13th seed in the conference, but is just 1.5 games out of the 10th seed, occupied by the swiftly fading New Orleans Pelicans. The 32-29 Mavericks are the West's sixth seed, but are just 3.5 games better than Los Angeles. A win today could help narrow the gap, and vault LA up the standings.

The 11th-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and 12th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers both also play today. Both clubs sport identical 28-31 records. Should LA win and those teams lose, the Lakers would be the new 11th-seed in the West.

Elsewhere in the play-in bracket, the West's seventh and eighth seeds, the 30-30 Golden State Warriors and the 31-31 Minnesota Timberwolves, are also facing off today, against each other no less. Whoever loses will slip below the ninth-seeded Utah Jazz (31-31), inactive today.

Amidst all this postseason jostling, let's take a look at some odds and lines for Lakers-Mavericks via The Action Network.

The Game Spread

Dallas, playing at home, is a four-point favorite to win this evening. The absence of D'Angelo Russell for LA certainly hurts the Lakers' chances for an upset, although the Mavericks are conversely at a severe frontcourt disadvantage. Take the Mavs to cover.

LeBron James's Total Combined Points, Rebounds, And Assists

James has been scoring a bit modestly since he started playing alongside his five new rotation pieces. With D-Lo out, look for him to take on more of the scoring burden once again. His projected over/under for combined points, rebounds and assists varies on different sites between 42.5-43.5. Take the over.

Jarred Vanderbilt's Total Rebounds

I don't know if Vandy is a fan favorite yet, but he deserves to be. This guy is a terrific role player, fulfilling a ton of the Lakers' needs this season, from defense across multiple positions to cleaning the glass to even some clutch passing. He's not a stat-stuffer per se, but he can certainly grab a bunch of boards on occasion. For the year, the well-traveled 23-year-old big man is averaging 7.8 rebounds per game. His anticipated over/under against an undersized Mavericks frontcourt is just 6.5. Jump on that over.

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