Mavs-Lakers preview: New looks (sort of) on display in matinee

If the Mavericks feel like a new team since the trading deadline frenzy, the Los Angeles Lakers can relate.

Yes, the superstars are still there – with the exception of Russell Westbrook.

LeBron James is still one of the best players in history, if not the best, and Anthony Davis is still a beast when healthy. And that makes the Lakers dangerous, even if they have played sub-.500 so far this season.

Just like the Mavericks are dangerous, simply because they still have Luka Dončić.

And they’ll all be together Sunday afternoon for the delight of another sellout crowd at American Airlines Center, plus a national television audience on ABC.

“There’s stars on both sides,” coach Jason Kidd said. “You got the greatest to ever play with LeBron and the Lakers are a different team with the trade.”

The trade would be the one that jettisoned Westbrook and fetched in return DeAngelo Russell from Minnesota and Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley from Utah.

That was 60 percent of the Lakers’ new starting lineup on Thursday night when they spanked Golden State 124-111 in LA. They teamed with James and Davis and the results have been sharp with three wins in the first four games since the deal went through.

It’s the Lakers last-ditch effort to get back into relevancy in the Western Conference. They still are outside of the postseason picture with a 28-32 record. But they also are just 3½ games behind the Mavericks, who reside in sixth place in the West, as of Saturday.

The Lakers don’t necessarily have to throw a shutout the rest of the way. But they are going to have to manufacture some wins that they aren’t expected to get if they hope to leapfrog a lot of teams to get to the playoffs. Getting to the play-in tournament probably is more realistic.

And, by the way, the Mavericks would rate as one of those wins that the Lakers might not expect to get.

In newcomers Beasley and Russell, the Lakers have a couple of strong scorers and Vanderbilt, as Kidd said Friday, “does all the dirty work for them.”

This will be a good test for the Mavericks with plenty of subplots. Kyrie Irving and James go back a long way, having won a championship together in Cleveland. And, of course, Luka grew up idolizing LeBron and has always enjoyed playing against him.

Here’s a few other noteworthy things to watch for as the Mavericks try to go up 3-0 on the Lakers this season with one match left in mid-March.

• LeBron has been absolutely logic-defying. Averaging 28.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7 assists per game, he’s doing things that nobody is supposed to be doing at 38. When the Mavericks beat the Lakers in January in LA, he had 24 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. When the Lakers visited the Mavericks on Christmas Day, LeBron had 38 points in a nine-point Mavericks’ win.
• In their first three games together, Dončić and Irving have revved up the Mavericks’ offense to average 130.3 points. Unfortunately, five consecutive opponents have made at least 50 percent of their shots against the Mavericks. And foes have scored at least 114 points in each of the last five games.
• The Mavericks hope to continue to integrate Justin Holiday, who was signed off the buyout market just before the All-Star break. He had a smashing debut on Thursday with 15 points on five-of-six shooting from three-point range. “Getting him is something that adds depth, being able to play him in different spots,” Kidd said. “We’re not expecting him to go five-of-six again. But it gives us another threat and depth at the wing position.” The Mavericks possibly could also get back Maxi Kleber, out since Dec. 13 with a hamstring injury.
• Davis has missed a slew of games to injuries this season, but since he returned in late January, the 6-10 Davis has averaged 21.8 points and 12.5 rebounds in 11 games. He’s also knocking back nearly two blocks per game. If the Mavericks want to bait him into shooting three-pointers, that would be a good thing. Davis has hit just 19 percent from beyond the arc since his return.
• After going undrafted in 2021, Lakers’ guard Austin Reaves has developed into a pretty functional NBA player. He’s shooting 37.7 percent from three-point land this season and averaging a shade over 10 points. The former Oklahoma and Wichita State product is coming off a 17-point game against Golden State when he didn’t miss a shot, hitting all six from the field, his only three-pointer and all four free throws.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (28-32) at DALLAS MAVERICKS (32-29)

• When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas.
• TV: ABC (Channel 8 locally).
• Radio:1 FM, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

Twitter: @ESefko