On the second night of a back to back, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Dallas Mavericks. Here are three things to look for in Friday night’s game.
An impressive first quarter
Thursday night against the Pacers, LeBron James and the Lakers came out to an excellent start in the first quarter, before throwing away a lead and turning it into a close win. Honi took a look at the video of that first quarter, and what the Lakers did right. The Lakers should constantly be looking at things to make them better, and the first quarter from Thursday is a sign that they are trying to do that. However, fans would like to see more than just one impressive quarter from the team, who is currently 7th in an impressively competitive Western Conference.
Luka Doncic leading the Mavericks
The rookie forward from Slovenia Doncic has been making waves so far in the NBA and almost certainly will be Rookie of the Year in an impressive rookie class. His 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game have been invaluable to the Mavericks, who are exceeding expectations with Doncic at the helm. What has ordinarily been a cakewalk for the Lakers, we can expect Doncic and the Mavericks to play competitively on Friday night.
Volatile Western Conference
With 5.5 games separating the first place Los Angeles Clippers from the 14th seed Houston Rockets, games between Western Conference teams are important every single night. The Lakers are on the butt end of a back-to-back but don’t have any excuses to not play a full four quarters against the Mavericks. These two teams are smack in the middle of the Western playoff outlook, but a game like tonight could send either team trending upwards or downwards.
