Los Angeles Lakers Given Edge To Prevail Over Visiting Dallas Mavericks

Darvin Ham — The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to try and bounce back with a win against the Dallas Mavericks. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

The Lakers will try to get back on track when they host the Mavericks
Anthony Davis is likely to return to action for the Lakers on Friday
The Mavericks could drop down the standings with a loss to the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers will try to get back on track with their new-look lineup when they host the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Friday, March 17 at the Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers are -4.5 favorites to prevail over the Mavericks, while the moneyline for this showdown is -198 for Los Angeles and +160 for Dallas.

Los Angeles is coming off a loss and is aware that every win counts moving forward.

They currently sit at the No. 9 spot of the Western Conference with a 34-35 record. However, they are within striking distance to move up the standings, a reason why they need to win as much as possible.

The Lakers lost their last assignment against the Houston Rockets, 110-114.

Los Angeles, already playing without LeBron James, also missed the services of Anthony Davis who sat out per doctor's orders.

"Houston—young team—and regardless of what their record is, they came to play," coach Darvin Ham stated after the game. "And we felt them. They made us feel them in terms of them attacking the paint, them getting hits... We should have been the ones playing with that type of edge."

Austin Reaves came off the bench to lead the Lakers with 24 points and seven assists, whereas D'Angelo Russell added 18 markers and seven dimes.

The Mavericks, on the other hand, are looking for back-to-back wins.

Dallas won in overtime over the San Antonio Spurs, 137-128, in their last assignment but faces a formidable Lakers quintet this time around.

Christian Wood led the Mavs in that win coming off the bench as he dropped 28 points and hauled down 13 rebounds.

Dwight Powell and Jaden Hardy gave Wood a helping hand with 22 points each.

"We made two mistakes late in the game," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said after the win via ESPN. "It wasn't where we were trying to make the mistakes. It just happens. As much as we look at them as numbers, we're human. San Antonio took advantage of them."

The Mavericks are a game ahead of the Lakers with a 35-35 win-loss record.

A loss would allow the Lakers to tie them and drag them down the Western Conference standings.

The matchup will be shown over NBA TV at 10:30 PM ET with live streaming also available via the NBA League Pass.