The Dallas Mavericks (5-14) are in Los Angeles on Friday night for their first game in a West Coast swing as they play the Lakers (13-4). It will be Dallas’ first game since Monday and Los Angeles’ first game since Tuesday, meaning both teams will be fully rested and ready to go.
These two teams will be tied together until the end of time, from the Luka Doncic trade to the sweep that retired Phil Jackson in 2011. Friday will not be at the top of the list of their most important matchups, but every
time they meet, it is a sight to see. The Lakers are punching down this time around, with second-place Los Angeles looking to avoid disaster against second-to-last-place Dallas.
The Lakers are very top-heavy. Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves complete a trio that carries their supporting cast night in and night out. They play a lot like Mavericks teams of the last few years, so if anyone knows how to guard them, it would be Dallas. The Mavericks are evenly balanced, although none of the pieces have much weight. They have the league’s worst offense and star power only in their rookie Cooper Flagg. It will be as weird or weirder a watch as the previous two matchups post-trade. Here are three things to watch for when the game tips off:
A contrast of style
The Lakers play a heliocentric brand of basketball, for reasons both sad and obvious. Luka Doncic is manning a top-10 offense for the third time in four years, this time as a member of the Lakers. He is leading the league in usage and averaging a career-high 35.2 points. For all intents and purposes, Doncic is a one-man wrecking crew. And, unfortunately for Dallas, he is hyper-motivated.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, are led in scoring by Cooper Flagg, who is putting up just 15.9 points per game, nearly 20 points below Doncic’s mark. Dallas does not have an offensive engine like their former star, and they play a more team-focused brand of basketball. Seeing who wins out between the blazing sun that is Luka Doncic and the rag-tag team of misfits that Dallas possesses will be interesting to watch.
A possible return for Anthony Davis
Davis has practiced this week in hopes of returning this weekend. Dallas has a game Saturday as well against the Clippers, but, like he said this week, we know which game he wants to play in. If Davis does return, it will be his first action since October 29 and the second time he has played the Lakers since being traded. He scored just 13 points against them in April.
Beat LA
The Mavericks have not beaten the Lakers or the Clippers since Luka Doncic was traded. They are 0-5 since February against the two teams, and they get them both this weekend. At 5-14, things may seem bleak. But the Mavericks are just two games out of 10th place, and 4.5 games behind Golden State, who is in eighth and just lost Steph Curry for a week or two. If Dallas wants to turn their season around, they have to find a way, as the old chant goes, to “Beat LA”.
How to watch
The game will tip at 9:00 p.m. CST on Prime Video.
