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Lakers: Will Team Continue to Roll Against Dallas Mavericks??

By Matthew Patterson

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Breaking news: The Lakers are showing signs of life.  Just a few days ago, I wrote an article basically saying the Lakers are a lock for a top five pick.  Well after two road wins against two above average teams, its looking like the Lakers might be able to somewhat compete.  The return of Nick Young is clearly having a positive impact on the team, as we expected, and Jordan Hill is continuing to put up dominant numbers.

With all this being said, the Lakers are going to face one of the hardest tests thus far, the Dallas Mavericks.  The Mavs this year have been an offensive juggernaut, and are ranked number 1 in points per game.  Lead by Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, and Monta Ellis, this team has a plethora of offensive weapons, and one of the leagues best rim protectors in Tyson Chandler.

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The Mavs are first in the league in point differential at +10.4, and are second in field goal percentage (48.6).  Now most explosive offensives who get up and down the court tend to turn the ball over quite frequently (cough, cough, Golden State), but somehow this Dallas team is second in the league in fewest turnover’s per game.

It is safe to say that Dallas has the best offense in the league, and tomorrow, they will be facing the worst defense in the league.  The Lakers however looked impressive on the defensive end two days ago, against one of the best offenses in the league in the Houston Rockets.  But just the previous night gave up 109 points to the Atlanta Hawks, 7 more than the Hawks’ average points per game.

Which Lakers  team shows up will be key to beating the Dallas Mavericks.  The Lakers team who relies on Kobe Bryant to shoot 30 times, and gives up 110 points per game will get throttled by an elite Mavs team.  If the Lakers play the same basketball they did in the first 10 games of the season, it will be very ugly.  The Mavs will take advantage of any given opportunity, whether is not getting back on defense, or not closing out hard on three point shots.  But if the Lakers play the defense they did two nights ago, and have a balanced attack on offense, they will give the Mavs a tough game, and might even come out with a victory.

X-Factor: Jeremy Lin

The play of Jeremy Lin will have the biggest impact of tonight’s game.  We know what we will get from Kobe Bryant, Jordan Hill, and Nick Young, but Jeremy Lin has been inconsistent thus far.  Three nights ago Lin looked brilliant, recording 15 points, 10 assist, and one missed shot.  Then the very next night, Lin put up just 3 points and 4 assists in 30 minutes of action.

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    • In order for the Lakers to keep up with this high powered offense, Jeremy Lin has to be in attack mode, and push the pace.  Jeremy Lin is really the only player on the Lakers who can lead the fast break.  Bryant doesn’t have the speed anymore, and Wes Johnson and Ed Davis would prefer to run the lanes.

    Not only does Jeremy Lin have to push the tempo, but he has to take control of this offense.  Too many times we have seen Lin defer to Kobe throughout the game, and sit there looking to spot up.  No way will the Lakers be able to keep up with the Dallas offense if they rely on Kobe every possession.  Lin will have to rack up around 15 points and 8 assists for the Lakers to have a chance to match the Mavs’ loaded offense.

    Key Matchup: Jordan Hill vs Tyson Chandler

    Kobe Bryant vs Monta Ellis will obvioulsy be the most fun to watch, but they are both going to dominate.  Jordan Hill and Tyson Chandler both have similar roles: rebound and defend.  Jordan Hill is asked to do  a little more on the offensive end, but Hill’s main responsibilities are on the defensive end.  Neither Carlos Boozer or Dirk Nowitkzi bring much to the defensive end, so Chandler and Hill will be controlling the paint for a majority of the game.

    These are two of the game’s best offensive rebounders, both being in the top five.  Whoever controls the glass and gives their team second opportunities will likely be on the winning side of this game.  Especially for Hill.  Chandler is king of the tap-out rebound, which means instead of grabbing the rebound, he swats it back to one of his teammates on the perimeter.  This often leads to wide open threes, or wide open lanes.  Hill cannot be beat on the offensive glass, because giving the Mavs extra opportunities to score is the last thing the Lakers want.

    Final Thoughts

    This one should be interesting.  Like I said, the number one offense is going up against the dead last defense, but the Lakers have already improved big time over the past two games.  Stepping up their defense, and the return of Nick Young has made the Lakers a whole different team.  The thought of containing Ellis, Nowitzki, and Parsons is pretty scary, so the Lakers may just have to play a perfect game to get the win in Dallas.

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