Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 02/12/26

With Cooper Flagg being ruled out for Thursday’s game in LA the Mavericks are facing an uphill battle to be competitive. Despite the 8-game losing streak Flagg has been the motor of this team, carrying the offense on his back by both scoring the ball but also creating for others. How the team plays without him remains to be seen, in 4 such games the Mavericks have gone 2-2 this season. The Lakers have had their number in head-t-head meetings winning 5 of the last 6 teams, on the road this team is only 2-12 ATS in 14 outings.

LA waived the white flag of surrender even before their last game against San Antonio began. Head coach JJ Redick decided to rest all of his starters as it was a 2nd night of a back-to-back scenario, resulting in a 136-108 loss to the Wemby and the Spurs. With that being the 2nd loss in a row for LA, it’s important for them to bounce back with a win and go into the all-star break on a positive note. They’ve beaten the Mavs in both meetings earlier this season, with Luka Doncic going nuclear against his former team on both occasions. With the Slovenian superstar now out of the line-up, it’ll be up to Redick to come up with a successful gameplan surrounding someone else.

That someone else will likely be Austin Reaves who put up 38 points and collected 8 rebounds against the Mavs earlier his year. The Lakers swingman is back from injury and as time goes on he will start to look like the player who was averaging over 25 points per game before he went out with his calf issue. The Lakers playing at home should give them edge here, I’ll go with them to cover against a weakened Mavs squad.

Dallas Mavericks vs LA Lakers Predictions: Lakers -7 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.