The Dallas Mavericks (19-26) host the Los Angeles Lakers (26-17) Friday night on ABC. The Mavericks are riding high having won four straight, most recently against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Lakers are playing pretty uneven basketball lately, but in their most recent game they fell to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.
Heres the main things you need to know before tipoff.
The injury report for the Mavericks has become a game of whack-a-mole. One guy comes back, Daniel Gafford is listed as probable with his ankle issue, but another goes down, in this case Moussa Cisse is doubtful due to illness. Otherwise, it’s the same four guys listed as out that have been out: Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively, and Dante Exum. The Lakers are without Austin Reaves who is dealing with a calf strain.
If you are watching tonight, please try downloading this app I am working with called Offside. I’ll be hanging out in the game chat with SlightlyBiased during the game. Give it a download, find the game, then look for the chat tab. Hang out, react to the game, drop any trades you want to see, and we’ll have fun during what should be a thrilling game.
When I wrote the longer game preview last night, I felt good about the Maverick chances, but something related to Cisse being out has me spooked. He plays hard, rebounds hard, and sets a tone and Dallas needs that. Gafford is good for some things, but rebounding and team defense aren’t his highest ranking attributes. I think the Mavericks need to push hard in transition to put the Lakers away. Doncic will take and make tough shots, but the Mavericks need to make the game tiring for the Lakers. This one feels like a toss up, though the Lakers are currently a 3.5 point favorite.
Consider joining Josh and me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube, we should start LATE. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!