In the NBA this week, the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers will combine to give us at least five quality games. We break down their Western Conference opponents because how they perform will definitely have an impact on the standings. Additionally, there is one “race” out in the East that can be quite amusing to watch.
Dallas Mavericks: March 13, 14, and 17
Playing three games in five nights is already hard enough. It becomes even tougher when those opponents are the Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Denver Nuggets. Keep in mind that the Warriors game and the Thunder game will be in a back-to-back scenario. At least the Mavericks caught a break because that Dallas-to-Oklahoma trip for the next day is a short one.
What’s in store for Dallas? They will face an improving Golden State team before trying to contain Oklahoma’s explosive scorer in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After that, they will have to come up with a battle plan before they host the Nuggets, who already beat the Mavericks twice this year. This five-day stretch is a big test for Dallas to see if they are capable of contending.
Luka Doncic stuffed the stat sheet in the Mavericks' win over the Pistons 🪄
39 PTS | 10 REB | 10 AST | 3 STL
▪️ Doncic becomes the first player in NBA history to record SIX consecutive triple-doubles with 30+ PTS pic.twitter.com/RwpggmQM1o
— NBA (@NBA) March 10, 2024
Los Angeles Lakers: March 13 and 16
If the Lakers want to say that they are finally on an upward trend, they need to beat the Sacramento Kings and the Warriors. They have some “rest advantage,” too, because they only have to play two games this week. That means they will have two days to sort things out before facing the Kings and then another two days off before meeting the Warriors.
That Sacramento game will be on everyone’s radar this week because of what happened in their previous matchup. The Lakers were up by 19 points and thought they were on their way to a sure win before the Kings stormed back. De’Aaron Fox was the hero as he collected 44 points and was aided by a former Laker, Malik Monk, who added 26 points off the bench.
DINWIDDIE BLOCKS DAME AT THE BUZZER 😱
LAKERS WIN pic.twitter.com/Ed37aqXo1o
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 9, 2024
Bottom of the Barrel: Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons
Let us clear things up right away by saying that these teams won’t face each other this week. The only reason why they are even mentioned here is because they have a little battle of their own: a “race” to finish with the worst record in the East when the season ends.
If you’re wondering why we should keep track of this, you can thank Washington’s Kyle Kuzma for that. Kuzma, a few months ago, boldly made fun of the Pistons and their poor win-loss record. Well, fast forward to today and you’ll notice that the Pistons and the Wizards have nearly identical records. If the Pistons somehow overtake the Wizards, Kuzma will have to survive the online backlash.
At this point its like “dont be that team” 🤣 https://t.co/qmWMgPt9Jz
— kuz (@kylekuzma) December 29, 2023
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