The Mavericks are coming into this game with a 9-5 record this season but they have lost their last 2 games now. Their 2 losses came against some of the better teams in the NBA though as they lost by 7 on the road against the Bucks and then played the next night and lost at home to the Kings. Now they are rested and will be hungry to bounce back with a win here as they have a very healthy starting lineup right now. They are going up against a Lakers team that is 9-6 this season and they have been playing very well recently as they have won their last 3 straight as well as 6 of their last 7 games. They have not had a very strong schedule in that span though as 5 of their last 6 wins have come against teams with losing records, their 1 loss in that span coming against the Kings and the 1 win against a team with a winning record coming at home by 1 point against the 6-6 Rockets. The Lakers are playing this game on a B2B as they played against the Jazz last night in the NBA In Season Tournament and they won the game by over 30 points at home, but the Jazz are one of the weaker teams in the Western Conference and an older team like the Lakers will have fatigue settle in late in this game. The last time the Lakers played a B2B was a similar scenario as they won at home against the Grizzlies by close to 30 points on the 1st night which was also an In Season Tournament night but followed up the very next night with a 15 point loss at home to a much better Kings team. This game will be very similar as the Mavericks are the better team and are in a much better spot here with the rest. The Mavericks will cover the spread in this game.