No King James

The Mavericks have had a recent sting of luck in regards to facing teams without their injured stars. They got Charlotte without Jeremy Lamb and Cody Zellar, not stars by any means, but vital cogs. They got Boston minus Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris. And lastly, they took on the Sixers who were down Jimmy Butler.

Tommorow night, they will host L.A., who has been down the best player on earth in LeBron James in their last six contests. They are 1-5 during his absence, meaning the Mavericks SHOULD take care of their business at home. Will they? That remains to be seen.

Can Luka finally get on track against LA?

Luka Doncic has essentially been spectacular all season long. But just like any other rookie, he’s allowed to and will have some rough games. And the two games against the Lakers have been bad in particular.

Luka is averaging 10 points, 6 assists, and 5.5 rebounds while slashing .29%/.27%/.60%.

In other words, way down from his season averages. It’s understandable, when you consider how many long, versatile defenders the Lakers have. Ingram, Lonzo, Hart, KCP, etc… all have the chops to bother him, but even then, it feels like he’s due for a good one against the Purple and Gold.

The Mavericks will need him in top form to snap their two game skid.

Mavs must keep their pace at home up to hang around 

It’s no secret, the Mavericks are really, really bad at playing basketball outside of the American Airlines Center. Is the issue correctable? Sure, and it’s something that they are undoubtedly working towards.

And while they work on getting it corrected, they must maintain their current pace at home. They currently have a 15-3 record when playing in their building. That’s one of the best marks in the league. That same advantage has to persist while they try to find themselves on the road, or else? Well the playoffs are completely out of the question.

Heck, they might already be.