3 things to watch as the Mavericks visit the Los Angeles Lakers

SB Nation

The Dallas Mavericks (19-34) will try to end their eight-game losing skid on Thursday at 9 p.m. as they play the Los Angeles Lakers (32-21) at Crypto.com Arena. The game will be the fourth in an eight-game homestand

for the Lakers, who last played Tuesday in a 136-108 scheduled loss to San Antonio in which LeBron James (foot, back-to-back rest), Luka Dončić (hamstring), Austin Reaves (calf), Marcus Smart (ankle), and Deandre Ayton (knee) did not play.

For the Mavericks, who last played Tuesday in a 120-111 loss to Phoenix, the game will be the third of a six-game road trip. Against the Suns they were led in scoring by Naji Marshall’s 31 points and Cooper Flagg’s 27, and as a team made only five of their 22 attempts from three.

The game’s emotional resonance as well as its on-court play will be greatly impacted by the absence of Dončić, who last played Feb. 5, sustaining a hamstring injury in win against Philadelphia. The approaching All-Star break presents an opportunity for a long recovery in preparation for a playoff run. Without Luka, the Lakers have played some pretty good ball, winning both their first two games, then hanging tough against the Thunder in a 119-100 loss before throwing their reserves and two-way players into the deep end against the Spurs. The 41 year-old James can still run a team, averaging 21 points and 10 assists in the two complete games without Luka, but their championship aspirations depend on both stars’ health.

The Mavericks will also be without their No. 1 option, as Flagg was ruled out late on Wednesday for Thursday’s game.

Deep cover

The biggest change in the Lakers since these teams last met is the recent addition of shooting guard Luke Kennard, who arrived in a Feb. 5 trade with Atlanta. In three games with the Lakers, Kennard is a cumulative 4-of-9 from three-point range. Kennard joins forward Rui Hachimura (.448 three-point percentage this year) as elite deep threats for the Lakers. They need it in Dončić’s absence; one notable deficit in James’ game this year has been his long-range shooting; the career 35% three-point shooter is making only 30.5 of his tries in 2025-26.

Paging Max Power

Dallas’ current slide overlaps perfectly with a cold stretch for the team from 3-point range, having connected on just 9.37 threes per game during that time; and overlaps nearly perfectly with a cold stretch from guard Max Christie, whose most recent standout performance came Jan. 24 in the first game of the streak, a 116-110 loss to the Lakers in which he made 4-of-10 from 3-point range on the way to 24 points. In the seven games since, Christie has shot 11-of-43 from deep for a .255 percentage, leaving the club without a reliable outside threat to keep defenses honest (Klay Thompson is a middling 15-of-43 in the same span). Shooters have many ups and downs over a season, though Christie’s recent issues also correlate with the team’s instability at point guard, with Ryan Nembhard, Brandon Williams, and Tyus Jones each getting turns at the starting role lately. Though it’s just a four-game sample, Christie has historically performed well against the Lakers, his former team, averaging 14.5 points on .385 shooting from 3-point territory. Dallas is 0-4 in those games.

If it seems like this piece is especially focused on 3-point shooting, it’s because there’s not a lot to focus on at center for the Lakers. While the springy Hayes is an exciting lob threat, neither he nor Ayton, questionable for Thursday, have looked like a long-term answer for a championship contender. The Lakers seemed likely to try to upgrade there at the deadline, instead addressing their other deficiency as a contender by adding a serious deep threat in Kennard. The Mavericks and Lakers, two franchises forever linked over Luka, also feature the two players drafted ahead of him in Ayton (No. 1) and new Mavericks center Marvin Bagley III (No. 2). Bagley, 8-of-10 from the field so far as a Maverick, could well end up the more appealing player of the two.

Familiar faces

Even though fans of the Mavericks’ odds in NBA draft lottery have had much to salivate over during the Mavericks’ recent stretch of futility, fans of watchable basketball have had to make do with scraps of competitiveness, such as the 18-1 second-half run that cut the Suns’ lead in half Tuesday. Meanwhile, for fans of NBA players with local ties, the Lakers bring a rich tapestry of Remembering Some Guys, including Marcus Smart (Flower Mound Marcus HS), Drew Timme (J.J. Pearce HS), Jaxson Hayes (University of Texas), Maxi Kleber (a Maverick from 2017-25), and assistant coach Scott Brooks (a Maverick in 1994-95).