The Mavs are in 8th place right now, and the injuries to all their bigs are piling up; the Lakers are pretty healthy, and the games against the Jazz were pretty much warm-up games for Luka. We can expect his play to rise when the second half starts after he takes this extended rest.
Dallas might not even make the playoffs, let alone the Play-In, if Phoenix or San Antonio both make a push, not to mention Sacramento and Golden State right up on their heels, and god forbid if Kyrie gets injured trying to carry the load, the Mavericks could be in trouble, which they already are at this moment.
LA, despite our defense being weak, is still finding ways to win games, and we've finished the first half of the season on a very unexpected 12-3 win streak. It doesn't seem like we're on the verge of slowing down either. The Lakers are on pace to finish in that 3-5 seeding (6th at worst) slot; the odds of us falling down to the bottom of the Play-In or missing out altogether are unlikely; our offense will carry us to the Postseason.