Lakers over the Mavs in Dallas - The power of the streaks

Dallas has been a very streaky team over the past 2 months. They won 17 out of 18 with a healthy Dirk Nowitzki before losing three straight as soon as Dirk was out of the lineup. They won two easy games before losing their past 6 games. The good news is that the 7 foot scorer is back and put up 32 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists in a loss at Detroit. As they head back to Dallas, the team's outlook will be more hopeful because they've seen that Dirk is back. They're going to try to come together for a tough home game.

The Lakers recovered from their anomalous loss against the Clippers (which I predicted) with a solid win against the Thunder. With 8 wins in their last 9 games, the Lakers are on a steadily victorious march. Having played tough teams in back to back games, the Lakers will be up to the challenge that Dirk and co. will provide.

This is going to be a back and forth battle, but the Lakers will have the edge and win at the end because they have experienced the feeling of winning so much lately. The last time Dirk tasted victory standing on the court was December 21. On a positive note for the Mavericks, the Lakers will elevate the Mavs' level of play as they face a strong Bulls team in Chicago Thursday night.