Very rarely in the NBA do you see a matchup this late in the regular season captivate the basketball world to the degree Wednesday's clash between the Dallas Mavericks and visiting Los Angeles Lakers has, with Luka Doncic returning to the American Airlines Center for the first time in purple and gold while Anthony Davis faces a team he helped capture a championship with in 2020.
For anyone regularly participating in the player props market, it's a dream scenario with two of the biggest names in the sport potentially making monster impacts versus their former squads. Now whether or not that ultimately happens remains to be seen, but that's also part of the fun of betting on these types of games.
Here are three expert player prop picks as the Lakers and Mavericks hit the hardwood on April 9, 2025, all of which involve talent involved in the blockbuster trade.
Game Preview: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks, 7:30 p.m. ET
Luka Doncic OVER 30.5 Points vs. Mavericks (-125 at Sportsbook)
Surely Doncic will be treated as the homegrown hero on Wednesday in front of the Dallas faithful. The reaction of the cataclysmic deal which sent him unceremoniously packing in the first place still resonates to this day, so as far as revenge scenarios are concerned, the five-time All-Star could be in store for one of his most memorable box scores as a Laker to date.
Now he did see action on Tuesday with Los Angeles falling by 16 to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center, 136-120, so this meeting with the Mavericks comes on tired legs. Doncic only played 31 minutes last night, though, which was actually his fewest since March 22 against the Chicago Bulls. That was a result of picking up two technical fouls which resulted in his ejection.
On the four occasions in which Doncic has competed on the second night of a back-to-back slate with the Lakers, he's dropped 30 or more points on two occasions. The Mavericks rank 24th in the Association in defense over their last five games at 118.4 points allowed per 100 possessions, but did hold Doncic to 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting on Feb. 25. Dallas will also have Davis this go around, along with center Derek Lively II in the middle, although that hasn't helped much defensively in recent outings.
Doncic has also gone UNDER 30.5 points in six of his last seven games, so we're banking on the atmosphere and adrenaline he may experience to carry him OVER the top, along with the fact that his teammates may go out of their way to get him his numbers.
Anthony Davis UNDER 9.5 Rebounds vs. Lakers (+104 at Sportsbook)
Securing double-digit boards wouldn't seem like too much of a tall task for someone like Davis, yet he's only registered an OVER at 9.5 once in his last six appearances with the Mavericks. He led the team in total rebounds in three of those games, but only once did it come with 10 or more in this department.
Los Angeles is only allowing the opposition to average 43 rebounds over its last five games, good enough for eighth overall. Dallas is averaging 42.8 (19th) during that identical span, with Davis leading the way with 9.5. He finished with 15 in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on April 2 which has boosted that number, as Davis ended with nine or fewer each of the other four games with exactly seven three times.
The 6-foot-10 big man could make this wager seem silly, but the patterns are there to justify it and the plus-money value at least makes it worthwhile for our units.
Max Christie OVER 1.5 3-Pointers Made vs. Lakers (+135 at Sportsbook)
The forgotten cog that made this trade work was Max Christie's inclusion, and while his minutes as of late with Dallas have been all over the place with bodies returning to the rotation, he's still a quality play with his 3-pointers made prop against a Lakers team allowing opponent's to connect on 15.1 triples (23rd) at a 41.2-percent clip (28th) over its last eight games.
Christie has exceeded 1.5 3-pointers in five of his last six games at home, averaging 2.5 makes over that period. He only converted two out of six attempts over the last two games against the Los Angeles Clippers, both of which were blowout losses, but the Clippers rank first and second in opponent's 3-pointers made and efficiency over the aforementioned eight-game stretch, so getting hot was always going to prove difficult for Christie.
Look for the 22-year-old guard to get back on track from the perimeter on Wednesday knowing full and well the circumstances surrounding the game and the roll he's been on shooting the rock in his own backyard.
