Wednesday evening is the second of a four-game homestand for the Los Angeles Lakers as they face the Dallas Mavericks, who have beaten L.A. in the first two meetings this season.
The Lakers are coming off an impressive but much-needed win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which may serve as a confidence boost for a team that is trying to turn their season around.
With the purple and gold struggling to stack consecutive wins, Wednesday is an opportunity to do so in front of Lakers fans at Crypto.com Arena. Dallas is coming off a gutsy win against the New Orleans Pelicans without Luka Doncic, meaning that a confident Mavericks team is coming into town.
Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent are the only two players out for this contest with knee injuries, which hurts the team’s defense. But the Lakers are more than capable of filling those absences.
The Mavericks missed Doncic the last three games with an ankle injury but is now available to make his return against the Lakers. However, they are without Dante Exum, who killed L.A. in the last meeting by making seven 3-pointers, and Josh Green, one of their best perimeter defenders.
This will be another battle of the stars with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Doncic and Kyrie Irving all available. Dallas has an 11-8 record on the road and are the second-highest scoring team in the Western Conference. L.A. was able to hold Oklahoma City to 105 points, so this will be another massive test as the Mavericks are a great 3-point shooting team.
Doncic leads Dallas in points, rebounds, assists and steals, showing the kind of generational talent he is. His backcourt mate, Irving, is behind him in scoring averaging 25.8 points and 5.4 assists. It will be a tall task to contain these two, but expect Jarred Vanderbilt and Max Christie to spend time defending them. Vanderbilt missed each of the first two meetings between these teams.
The Lakers cannot let Dallas’ supporting cast catch fire either with the likes of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Grant Williams, as they are capable of knocking down spot-up 3s.
However, the purple and gold have gone back to the original starting lineup used at the beginning of the season, which is more focused on the offensive end. Dallas is going to put up points, but it is up to L.A. to get enough stops and not go through extensive scoring droughts if they want to win this game.
Los Angeles Lakers (20-21) vs. Dallas Mavericks (24-17)
5:30 p.m. PT, Jan. 17, 2024
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet, ABC
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Rui Hachimura, Christian Wood, Jarred Vanderbilt, Max Christie
Projected Mavericks Starting Lineup:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Kyrie Irving
SF: Tim Hardaway Jr.
PF: Derrick Jones Jr.
C: Dereck Lively II
Key Reserves: Grant Williams, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, Jaden Hardy
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