LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA- The Dallas Mavericks are coming off of a loss in their season opener against the Suns, and are looking to rebound in their primetime Christmas Day matchup against the defending champs the Los Angeles Lakers. This matchup will feature the current face of the NBA Lebron James and prospective face of the NBA Luka Doncic which will be another big time game between the two teams.
The Lakers have one 9 of the last 11 meetings between the two squads, and have won three straight season series against the Mavericks. Dallas and Los Angeles has always been one of the premiere matchups throughout NBA history. One of the most remembered games between the Mavericks and Lakers was back in December of 2005 when Kobe Bryant scored 62 points against the Mavericks in three quarters of play. Another matchup that will always be remembered in Dallas was when the Mavericks swept the Lakers in the 2011 Western Conference Semifinals paving their way to the NBA title that year. Dirk and Kobe always admired each other from afar and their admiration was prevalent whenever they graced the hardwood together.
Lebron James and Luka Doncic share that same admiration, so much so that during the offseason Lebron James made a podcast appearance and spoke about Luka being the first NBA player to represent James’s brand under Nike. People within basketball circles believe that Luka is next in line to take the proverbial throne once Lebron James eventually retires, even though that may not be so soon.
In their first meeting of the 2019-2020 season, the Lakers edged the Mavericks out in overtime 119-110 and Luka Doncic and Lebron James became the first pair of opponents in NBA history to record a 30 point 15 assists triple double in the same night. Luka Doncic finished the game with 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists, and Lebron James finished the game 39 points, 12 rebounds, and 16 assists. Doncic averaged close to a 25 point triple double (25 ppg, 9 rpg, 9.8 apg) against the Lakers in the 2019-2020 season, so this was just par for the course for the young superstar.
Dallas’s defense will face another challenge as the Lakers can be efficient from essentially anywhere on the floor and have bench players who can step in and continue to be efficient as well. The Mavericks defensive efforts were the highlight in their loss to the Suns, and struggled to get in rhythm on the offensive end. The Mavericks finished their season opener shooting 42% from the field and 24% from the three point line which is surprising for a team that was one the top teams in the league doing so last season. If Dallas doesn’t attack often and early, it will be a long Christmas night.
The Lakers added more firepower to their bench since the last matchup between the two teams after signing Dennis Schroder who has a proven track record in the NBA and could be a dark horse Sixth Man of The Year candidate, Wesley Matthews who can shoot the three, and Montrezl Harrell who is a talented big man who can defend the rim. The Lakers added All-Star center Marc Gasol to provide a level of variety to their offensive approach and still have solid players in Kyle Kuzma who just signed an extension to stay with the team and Alex Caruso who provided the Lakers an additional push during their championship run last season coming off the bench.
The matchup will be all about who can create the most opportunities to make something out of nothing. Both teams can be a problem defensively but also both teams have a history of playing exceptional offense when they face each other.
Tonight will be no different as the stage is set potentially for an all time matchup, and could possibly be a preview of the Western Conference Finals.
