L.A. Lakers at Dallas
Time: 7:30 PM CT, NBA LP
Spread: DAL -2
Total: 214.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Dallas Mavericks have lost eight of its last 10, but find itself favored by 2-points tonight as it hosts the 23-31 Los Angeles Lakers. Dallas has gone 10-18 at home this season, and the over/under for the contest is 214.5 points according to the NBA odds making panel at bookmaker 5dimes.
Dallas is in last place in the Western Conference and has lost seven of its past eight. The Game will air at 7:30 Central time on NBA League Pass for its subscribers.
LAL
The Lakers made some waves this week in dealing Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas. Thomas will serve as a big scorer and spark off the bench behind rookie Lonzo Ball, though he has struggled mightily since leaving the Boston Celtics and has his clear defensive limitations as a 5-foot-9 guard. Even so, to obtain a player who finished top-5 in MVP voting a year ago at the low cost of Clarkson and Nance has to be seen as a good move for L.A. The only outstanding issue is that Thomas is a defensive nightmare, and the Lakers are already putrid on that end of the court.
Over the last 10 games, Utah product and rookie Kyle Kuzma has tailed quite a bit. He is averaging 11 points, three rebounds and 1.2 assists over his last 10 games while playing just 23.3 minutes a night. It is possible he has hit the rookie wall, especially looking at his 41.8 percent shooting percentage, which has been just 35.7 over the Lakers last three games.
Brandon Ingram is coming on strong, however, and has averaged 17 points and 5.8 assists over the Lakers last five games. He posted 26 points on 9 of 12 shooting in the win over Phoenix.
Lonzo Ball has ruled out with a knee injury that will cause him to miss this contest, too.
Julius Randle has seen an uptick in playing time and is averaging 18.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 27 minutes a night over the Lakers’ past 10 games. Randle had 19 points, 12 rebounds and two assists in the 102-99 victory over Brooklyn on Feb. 2, and he has averaged 19.2 points and nine rebounds over his last five games. He had 21 points, five assists and eight boards in the win over Phoenix. Perhaps he is being showcased for an eventual trade, or it is really just the decline of Kuzma’s rookie season. It is difficult to tell which, if not both, is the case.
The fact that Randle has come on in Kuzma’s decline is no accident, but the Lakers have been winning more games with the more-experienced Randle seeing the bulk of the minutes at the 4-spot. L.A.’s defense has been so poor already, that it can only improve even if Randle is defensively undersized as a power forward. Nance Jr’s departure does clear the front court crowding up some.
The Lakers have the different cogs to rotate in at forward, and if Kuzma begins (or continues?) to hit a rookie wall it will only result in more minutes for the more-productive veterans. That is to say, the Lakers may win a few extra games despite being in an overall tank effort, simply because Randle is a rougher and better interior player than Kuzma, and Nance Jr. is a better defender than both, but defense is a clear non-issue given the trade for Thomas, and the Lakers are still in a rebuild. So, there is that.
DAL
Dallas (17-38), is out of realistic contention for the 2018 playoffs, has several reasons to be excited about the progress of what has to be called one of the stranger rebuilds in recent history. While still clinging to what is left of Dirk Nowitzki’s career, the Mavs are nevertheless in something of a tank mode, bent on developing their young talents and positioning themselves for another high pick in the 2018 draft. And that is not all bad. The No. 8 overall pick from the 2017 draft has thus far panned out brilliantly for Dallas, as Dennis Smith Jr. is becoming a household name on a horrible team, which is something of a task in and of itself.
Smith has only been getting more aggressive and better as his rookie season has worn on. Over the Mavericks last five games (four of which were losses), he has averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting just 29 percent from the floor. His three-point stroke still leaves some room for improvement at just 31.6 percent on the season, but what he lacks in marksmanship he makes up for with extra-worldly athleticism. Over the last five games he has connected on just 4 of 23 from behind the arc.
Shooting struggles aside, Smith’s highlights should keep him on everyone’s radar until the Mavericks build a team around him, but in the meantime, it is difficult to ignore what he is doing already. Smith had 12 points and five assists in the 106-99 victory over Sacramento last outing on Feb. 3, and while outside of swingman Harrison Barnes, not much surrounds him, he does look to have the makings of a true superstar to cede Nowitzki after he finally decides to hang it up.
Dirk still has started all 53 games this season, but he is just playing 25 minutes a night and averaging a very humble 12 points and five rebounds per game. Perhaps the most telling part of his decline, however, has not been the reduction in minutes and usage, but the fact Nowitzki is shooting just 46 percent from the field and attempting just under 10 shots per game. While his guile and skill should enable him to remain at least this effective a little longer, there is no delusional Mavericks fan that is waiting nor expecting him to return to the MVP-caliber play by which his career became known for.
Nevertheless, Barnes (18.4 points per game) and Smith should keep Dallas relevant once Dirk does retire, and the Mavericks may ultimately look for a frontcourt replacement this year in the NBA Draft. It is a rebuild certainly that has more promise than others around the league, despite the fact it is hard to just call it a rebuild while rostering a Hall of Fame talent, still.
