It’s February 22, 2012 and the (19-13) Los Angeles Lakers are in the heart of Texas to put some off-the-court turmoil behind them and face the (21-12) defending champion Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers embark on a short, but very important two-game road trip that pits L.A. against the Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder on back-to-back nights.
The Lakers return to the American Airlines Arena, where their 2010-2011 season came to an abrupt end under an avalanche of three’s – an NBA record-tying 20 three- point shots, leading to a 36-point defeat nine months and 14 days ago that completed a four game sweep. The loss was an embarrassing exit for Head Coach Phil Jackson, arguably the best coach in NBA history.
The Lakers will have revenge on their minds and hopefully they took their ‘A’ game on this road trip. With a 5-11 record away from the Staples Center, they have not looked like the same team that plays at home. The Lakers have won six of their last 10 games.
L.A. currently leads their season series with the Mavericks 1-0 after taking last season’s series 2-1. They have gone 4-6 in their last 10 regular season games at American Airlines Arena. In their first meeting, Lakers’ guard Derek Fisher knocked down a game winning three-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining to give L.A. a 73-70 victory.
The Mavericks are playing good basketball and are winners of seven of their last eight games. They are a balanced scoring team with several weapons that does an excellent job of sharing the basketball and challenging opponents’ defensive rotations. At times, the Mavericks have frustrated the Lakers with their zone defense of the L.A. front line and specifically, Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum & forward/center Pau Gasol must be factors attacking the zone.
Gasol was not only non-existent in the post season, he was a non-factor in the Laker win over the Mavericks on January 16th, scoring eight points on 3-for-11 shooting. This Laker has played well of late, averaging 16.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. The first quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers game should be the blueprint the Lakers should use as a plan-of-attack on a nightly basis.
L.A. needs to do a good job of moving the basketball and moving bodies to find a high percentage shot. It is imperative that the Lakers establish both Gasol and Bynum in the post and give each enough touches to affect the outcome of the game.
Tonight’s game should have a playoff feel to it, seeing as how the Lakers rank as the sixth best in the NBA in points allowed and the Mavericks the fourth best. Surprisingly, these teams are separated by a mere 0.4 difference.
The Lakers need to communicate on defense, play better against the pick-and-roll play, stop the dribble penetration of the guards, control the tempo, control the boards, get back in transition and quickly rotate out to open shooters. Guard Steve Blake’s return has improved the production of the bench and the reserves need to score 35+ point. They must not allow the Mavericks’ reserves to out-score them. The Lakers need to out-hustle, out-rebound and simply out-work the Mavericks. And as the league’s top rebounding team, they need to own the glass on both ends of the court.
Lakers: D. Fisher, K. Bryant, M. Peace, P. Gasol, A. Bynum
Mavericks: J. Kidd, D. West, S. Marion, D. Nowitzki, B. Haywood
Tip-off: 6:30 PM PST
Television –
- Los Angeles: KCAL 9 (Bill Macdonald & Stu Lantz) & ESPN
- Dallas: FS SW (Mark Followill & Brad Davis) & ESPN
Radio –
- Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (John Ireland & Mychal Thompson)
- Dallas: ESPN 103.3 (Chuck Cooperstein)
Injuries –
Lakers:
- Steve Blake (Costochaondral fracture) Probable
Mavericks:
- Jason Terry (Quadriceps) Probable
- Delonte West (Right Ring Finger Surgery) Ou
- Lamar Odom (Family Matter) Out