What’s up with the Los Angeles Lakers?
The Los Angeles Lakers are going to play the Dallas Mavericks tomorrow, and will begin a very tough three-game road trip, which also happens to be the most important of the whole season.
In addition to taking on teams in the Western Conference, the purple and gold are also playing teams that they are trying to catch up with in the standings in an effort to improve their 28-32 record. The Lakers have been stating frequently over the past two weeks that they want to improve their playoff push, and the time is here to accomplish just that.
The good news for Los Angeles is that this crucial road trip is taking place at the ideal moment, since they've recently been playing outstanding basketball and have maybe looked their best all season. The Lakers have demonstrated the potential of their post-trade deadline squad by winning two consecutive games with ease and dominance.
Even if the last two matches aren’t enough to give justice to their improved performance and the Lakers just so happened to run against the undermanned Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans, recent statistics have shown that L.A. is on the right track with their redesigned roster.
We all know that time is not on the Lakers' side, but they may be cooking up something good. They’ll be put to the test as they face the Mavericks, who are now offensively stronger with the addition of Kyrie Irving.
What’s up with the Dallas Mavericks?
The Lakers is a dangerous team because they have LeBron James, who is one of the best players in history, if not the best, and Anthony Davis, who is still a beast when he’s healthy. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks are dangerous simply because they have Luka Doncic. This guy is always going to be a huge factor in their victories and all teams must really find a way to stop him from scoring.
My takeaways can simply be from their first two encounters with L.A. – both of which Dallas emerged as winners. That was before, and now we have Irving who can chip in the points. In their first three games together, Doncic and Irving have revved up the Mavericks’ offense to average 130.3 points.
One more player that we can expect to step up is Justin Holiday, who was signed off the buyout market just before the All-Star break. He had an impressive debut on Thursday with 15 points on five-of-six shooting from the 3-point area.
Prediction
The Lakers appear to have performed admirably over the trade deadline. They now appear to be a more dangerous shooting team, and with Anthony Davis back in the lineup and healthy in the paint, I believe they can compete with the Mavericks on the road.
The Mavericks have put up strong performances on their home floor, and they'll want to continue that trend. They also have two exceptional offensive players in Luka and Irving, who will look to exploit the Lakers’ defensive weaknesses. However, they shouldn’t underestimate the Lakers, especially after their recent wins, which have definitely increased their confidence.
Where to watch
You can catch the Lakers and Mavericks in action live tomorrow at 4:30 AM on NBA League Pass.
