The L.A. Lakers as of late are all about taking losses, seemingly automatically, too. Everyone sat down for their loss against Phoenix. They seemed content just playing offense in a loss against Sacramento. And the worst yet, it’s almost like they didn’t care for most of the Charlotte game until they realized they were in a professional basketball game. The Lakers would go on to lose against the then-second worst team in the league, record-wise.
Despite all of these losses and the Lakers being 13-19, they’re still only 2 1/2 games behind 10th place Minnesota Timberwolves, who are having a disappointing campaign of their own. But the Lakers should worry about themselves having a mediocre season instead of the other teams. Win some games and the rest should take care of itself.
Christmas Day brings the Dallas Mavericks as the Lakers go to the Lone Star State for the start of their five-game roadie. Yes, even the Mavericks are having a struggling season at 17-16, considering that they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors.
We know the Mavericks are all about Luka Doncic. The Mavs recently got a win over the Rockets where Luka went for 50 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Doncic pretty much does everything for Dallas. He’s tied in the league lead with 6 triple-doubles, second in the league in scoring with 32.8 points per game, and 6th in assists with 8.7 per. And he’s also second in usage rate among players. Usage rate means what percentage team plays the player is involved with per possession (meaning the play ends with a field goal or a free throw attempt or a turnover). And Luka is involved a ton.
The Mavericks don’t exactly have a defined second star. I suppose Spencer Dinwiddie has been fitting the bill; he’s a ballhandler that has hit some big shots for the Mavs. Dinwiddie is averaging 16.5 points and shooting .419 from three. Christian Wood was acquired from the Rockets last summer. He had been coming off the bench before he was finally put in the first five the last few games. Wood is averaging 16.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest.
There are still the mainstays like Tim Hardaway, Jr. (can still put in great scoring games and puts up a ton of threes), and Dwight Powell (always ready around the rim). Another regular, Maxi Kleber, has been out with a hamstring injury. Dorian Finney-Smith (we know him as a good defender) has an adductor injury. Josh Green is also out due to an elbow injury. And recent acquistion Kemba Walker has also been listed as out for Sunday.
We might see Davis Bertans (who has sadly fallen off in the last few years) get more playing time. Reggie Bullock will definitely have a chance to take more threes. And ex-Laker JaVale McGee is also a big that has even started 7 games for them.
The Mavs like to slow it down (29th in pace and fewest fast break points in the league). They also put up a ton of threes (third most in made threes and attempts). They don’t shoot the best percentage but the sheer volume of three-pointers can overwhelm a team. Luka is going to get his; he’s a superstar, after all. But the Lakers better make sure to stop everyone else.
Unfortunately, if the past games were any indication, I don’t feel good about the Lakers doing that. In fact, they haven’t really stopped anybody in the month of December; they’re 28th in defensive rating in the last 24 days. So whatever defense we praised them about should go out of the window. I suppose the good news is that… we know they’re capable. They just haven’t done it this month.
As far as injuries go, the Lakers are hopeful Anthony Davis could avoid surgery on his stress injury and return to the court as soon as January. Thomas Bryant hurt his shoulder late against Charlotte and there’s no update on that yet.
Most importantly, we just want the Lakers to give the effort from start to finish. Their performance against the Hornets was pretty damning and it might have been the worst loss of the season in a season full of terrible losses.
Sometimes, all we want is for our favorite team to put forth the effort. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody.
