The Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers used to be fixtures in the playoffs, but for now, we will all have to content ourselves watching those two teams playing in meaningless games this late in the season. That said, whenever this two teams lock horns, it’s usually an event. Read on for preview of this game below.
This season is probably going to be remembered more by Dallas fans as the year they got introduced to Dennis Smith Jr. The high-flying rookie has rapidly blossomed into one of the team’s key pieces. He is second on the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game, though he needs to polish a little bit more on his shooting as he owns a poor 39.1 field goal shooting percentage. He needs to keep firing shots, however, as Dallas does not have that many offensive weapons. The Mavs are only 27th in the league in scoring with 102.7 points per game. That said, they are better offensively when against the Lakers. In three meetings with the Lakers this season, the Mavs put up an average of 111.0 points per game. Pretty understandable, considering that LA is in the bottom six in the league in terms of defense. Harrison Barnes led the team with 19.0 points per game in those three showdowns, while Smith is behind him with 16.7.
Like the Mavericks, the Lakers are now also out of playoff contention following a bitter 112-106 road loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday. If anything, Lonzo Ball had a good showing in the loss, as he stuffed the stat sheet with a near triple-double line of 15 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds in 43 minutes of action. Julius Randle also had a valiant effort, as reflected by his 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Lakers are 2-1 SU and ATS against the Mavericks this season, partly because of Randle and the team’s dominance in the shaded area. The Lakers, who scored 54 points in the paint against the Pistons, are averaging 53.3 PITP versus Dallas this year. In those games, Randle averaged 22.3 points and 12.0 rebounds and shot 65.1 percent from the field. Dallas has a slim frontline that Randle and company could take advantage of again this Wednesday.
