The Los Angeles Lakers are favored to repeat as NBA champions this season. The Lakers tied Boston as the most successful franchise in league history with their 17th title last year, and they have a good chance of breaking the tie in 2020-21. They lost their season opener against the Clippers though, so the Lakers are out to avoid an 0-2 start when the Dallas Mavericks come to town on Christmas Day.
This will be the penultimate game of a Christmas Day quintuple header on Friday, December 25, at 8 p.m. ET. It will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California with ABC and ESPN broadcasting the game.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Dallas Mavericks +6
Los Angeles Lakers -6
Total: 230
Injury Report
There are no injuries to report for the Los Angeles Lakers coming into this game. The Lakers avoided any injuries against the Clippers, and they will have two days off before playing the Mavericks.
Meanwhile, Dallas won’t have Kristaps Porzingis for at least a little while as he is continuing to rehab after suffering a torn meniscus in the playoffs. Porzingis has recently been cleared to return to practice, but he isn’t expected to see game action until January. Maxi Kleber has a knee injury of his own, and he is listed as day-to-day.
Game Preview
Luka Doncic is one of the most impressive players in the NBA today. Doncic is almost guaranteed to win an NBA MVP at some point barring injury, as he has shined in his first two seasons with Dallas. He averaged 28.8 PPG with 9.4 RPG and 8.8 APG last year, establishing himself as a triple-double threat whenever he was on the court. The Slovenian needs to work on his three-point shooting after making just 31.6 percent of this triples last season, but he is making 46.3 percent of his baskets.
Without Porzingis, the Mavericks are in a bit of a bind when it comes to a secondary scorer. Tim Hardaway Jr. was third on the team in scoring last year (15.8 PPG), and he shot 39.8 percent from beyond the arc, so he is a solid option from the perimeter.
Josh Richardson and Josh Green were added to help in this regard. Richardson hasn’t shot well from beyond the arc since his rookie year, but he is averaging double-digits in each of the last our years. Meanwhile, Josh Green is a talented rookie from Arizona that should see some big minutes early on in the season.
The Lakers didn’t shoot well from range in their opener. Los Angeles made just 31 percent of its three-point attempts, as LeBron James didn’t look like himself. James led the team with 22 points, but he only added five rebounds and five assists while turning the ball over four times.
Anthony Davis is one of the most intimidating frontcourt players in the game today. Davis played a big part of the Lakers’ run to the title last year, and he had 18 points with seven rebounds in the season opener. He is the X-Factor for the Lakers in this game, as the Mavericks don’t have someone that can stop his size and athleticism.
We saw Los Angeles make a few moves this offseason to improve the team. Montrezl Harrell was brought in as a rebounding and defensive presence, Dennis Schroder is an electric guard that can provide a lot of quick scoring, and Marc Gasol is a proven veteran. Schroder saw a lot of action in his first game, so it will be interesting to see what the gameplan is for him against the Mavericks.
Prediction
Doncic has the skill to keep Dallas in the game until late, but the defending champions will eventually pull away.
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