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The revamped Dallas Mavericks lock horns with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Arena at a UK-friendly tip-off time of 8:30pm.
The Mavs have looked especially resurgent in recent weeks, touting the best offence in the NBA with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Though the pair are still navigating an increasingly competitive Western Conference, the early signs suggest that they’ll do more than just link up well.
In their 58 minutes together so far, they’ve produced an offensive rating of 125.9, combining for points within the paint, and hounding defenders within the passing lanes.
Against the San Antonio Spurs, they revelled in attack. Doncic led the way with 28 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists through the first three quarters, but it was Irving’s push in the early stages of the fourth quarter that blew the game open and kept Doncic from having to re-enter. Irving finished with 23 points and six assists in just 30 minutes.
Defence does remain an issue for the Mavs, compounded by the absence of their best perimeter marker Dorian Finney-Smith. But when you have a frontcourt duo as powerful as that, sometimes it doesn’t matter too much.
For the Lakers, that particular rhetoric doesn’t apply. They know they’re in danger of missing the play-in tournament, evident in their flurry of moves in the trade window that sealed the arrivals of D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Mo Bamba.
While those players may improve the team, is it enough to catch up with the rest of the contenders fighting for a playoff place in the West?
Anthony Davis’ fitness remains a pivotal part of that. So does James’. The six-time All-Star captain spoke recently on his injury status being conflated by a stress fracture in his foot. He then hurt his ankle in the run-up to 72nd All-Star clash, and his hand in the game itself.
It’s very clear that his involvement will play a big role in whether the Lakers make it past the regular season, and as head coach Darvin Ham, stated, there can be no more ‘rest days’ in the final stretch. This is it.
Now, if you want to catch all this drama and suspense live, you’re in the right place. Sky Sports will be live-streaming the game on YouTube.
…and it will also be ready to watch on Sky Sports Arena, from 8:30pm on Sunday.
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