3. Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs are just ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings. Dallas can match LA’s star power with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving headlining their roster, but the Mavericks do not have the depth. Head coach Jason Kidd is often mixing and matching around his stars. Acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford before the deadline helped, but Dallas is still a few rotation players short in a playoff series and has no definitive third-best player.
The Mavs reached the conference finals in 2022, but it was a surprise run. Dallas missed the postseason last year and is likely headed for the Play-In this season. It could be Mavericks versus Lakers for the final playoff spot in the West, which would be advantage LA.
Since Luka Doncic joined the Mavs, they have split their 20 games against the Lakers. Doncic has not been shy in discussing his admiration for LeBron. It could be an epic clash to see the two greats battling for the final playoff spot. Luka could go nuclear and send the Lakers packing, but the Mavericks have nobody to guard Anthony Davis.
Los Angeles will add more talent if they falter in the postseason, but they have more depth than the Mavericks. LeBron James will exploit the matchups and make the young hungry lion wait his turn if the two sides matchup in the postseason.