Preview: Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 01/12/2010
Lakers vs Mavericks- January 13, 2010: Looking to cut into the (29-9) Los Angeles Lakers 3½ game lead in the Western Conference standings, the (25-12) Dallas Mavericks host the defending World Champs who'll be playing the second of a Texas back-to-back. These conference rivals are scheduled to tip it off at 8:40 PM ET (5:40 PM PT) live from the American Airlines Center on KTXA and/or KCAL-LAL.
Los Angeles comes into this game, really banged up, losers of three of its last four games and of four in a row away from the Staples Center . The Mavericks, meanwhile, come in with a 12-6 home mark, winners of 6 of their last 10 games and trailing the champs for the best record in the West.
For Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, injuries are piling up this season. Last night, Bryant's latest injury (back) knocked him out of the game, as the 4-time NBA champion struggled to walk to the locker room. "I could barely move," Bryant said. "I tried to orchestrate some things for my team, couldn't walk. I literally couldn't walk. It's the only way I don't play." Incredibly enough, Bryant claims he's "pretty sure" he will play tonight against Dallas .
For the Mavs, they tend to use this game as a measuring stick to know where they are at this point in the season. However, I'm not so sure that playing against a Gasol-less Lakers and a banged up Bryant would be a good determiner. "We want to see how good we are," Dirk Nowitzki said Monday. "I always said regular-season games don't mean that much, but it's still a fun game."
