Welp, the game NBA fans have been waiting for is finally here. After one of the most stunning trades in sports history, Luka Doncic will get his chance to face off against the Mavericks on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Needless to say, Doncic props and specials will be popular in this one. I don’t think much analysis is really required here, as the situation is obvious.
Simply put, the Mavericks made a massive bet against Luka Doncic. By trading him to the Lakers for an underwhelming package out of the blue, Dallas told the face of its franchise, and one of the faces of the league, that it didn’t believe in his ability to stay in shape and be worth a longterm investment. Now, in his fifth game as a Laker, Luka gets his shot to rub it in the face of his former franchise.
Luka Doncic had a rusty start to his career as a Laker in the two games before the All-Star break, but he was playing for the first time in six weeks, and adjusting to a new team, all while operating on a minutes restriction. That restriction was lifted out of the All-Star break, and we’ve seen Luka appear much more comfortable. He had his breakout game on Saturday night in Denver, finishing with 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in just 31 minutes — sitting late due to the blowout.
No doubt, Luka Doncic is going to have revenge on his mind in this matchup, particularly due to the nature of the trade. The NBA is a business, but this wasn’t your average trade. The Mavericks made this personal, and we all expect Doncic to react that way on Tuesday night when given the chance to show them how big of a mistake they made.
Luka Doncic is an effortless scorer, and I expect LeBron James and his teammates to constantly be looking for him in this game, even encouraging him to be a bit selfish at times. All kinds of Luka Doncic specials are available for this game on DraftKings Sportsbook, so if you want to get aggressive and go for some larger payouts as well, I’m all for it. I’ll keep it to a larger play on the standard point prop below, but if you want to sprinkle on Doncic to go 35+ points and/or 40+ points, I think both are reasonable and realistic outcomes.
The NBA has plenty of drama, and if often driven by narratives. Luka Doncic squaring off against the Mavericks is one of the stronger narratives in recent memory, due to the circumstances and the caliber of the player.
The Play: Luka Doncic OVER 31.5 Points (-110) 2-units
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