NBA Thursday betting preview: Lakers worth betting in AD's return

A down night from Stephen Curry meant we settled for a 2-1 record on Wednesday's NBA picks against the spread instead of a clean sweep. Can we achieve perfection in Thursday's lighter six-game slate?

Suns (-1.5, 220) @ Celtics

Why do the Suns continue to be disrespected in the betting market? Phoenix ranks second in net rating (+6.6) since the start of February and has covered 60.7% of its games, the third-best mark by any team.

The Celtics have covered five of their last six games but will likely be without Jaylen Brown, who's missed just five games this year. Boston is 2-3 ATS in those games, including a 9-point loss to the Suns as a short underdog. Phoenix is 11-4-1 ATS when favored by fewer than four points and should be able to put away Boston once again in a similar spot.

Pick: Suns -1.5

Lakers @ Mavericks (-3.5, 216.5)

Anthony Davis is expected to return to the Lakers on Thursday, just in time to face a slumping Mavericks team trying to snap a six-game skid ATS.

L.A. hasn't played a game this year with Davis and without LeBron James, but the former's return should boost the Lakers more than this spread suggests. Since James was injured on March 20, L.A.'s posted a net rating of -1.0 - a few ticks below the Mavericks' mark (+4.3) over the same stretch.

Isn't Davis worth more than a couple of points to the spread, which is what this line is implying? The Lakers lacked any go-to scorer for the last five weeks; now they have one of the best in the league. Take the points and don't be surprised by an outright win.

Pick: Lakers +3.5

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.