The Dallas Mavericks will have arguably their most important matchup of the season so far on Saturday as they travel to the Crypto.com Arena for a road game against the Los Angeles Lakers. While Mavs vs. Lakers has been appointment viewing over the last few years, this year’s matchup is even more significant as it’ll be Luka Doncic’s first game against the Mavericks in his career.
It’ll be an emotional matchup for both teams. In his post-game press conference, Kyrie Irving was asked to discuss the upcoming marquee matchup.
“A high-level basketball game? A lot of good players on the floor at once. Outside just the obvious of us being in LA and being a former team of Luka’s, obviously the narrative is already written. I don’t know what else I can add to that. I’m pretty much focused on telling my guys to focus on the high-level game that we gotta win.”
“I’d love to get into the emotions after the game with you, but before the game, it’s just about having fun and making sure that we lock in and have a deep focus. They’re gonna come in and be ready to play against us.”
“Luka will obviously have a lot of confidence that game, and he played well last game, so he’s feeling good. We’ve just got to be aware of it.”
Kyrie Irving shares his perspective on the Dallas Mavericks facing Luka Dončić with the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/egcufryvpM
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) February 23, 2025
The Mavericks vs. Lakers matchup is going to be fascinating. Both teams are coming in from the opposite end of the momentum spectrum. The Lakers are flying high after a big win over the Denver Nuggets, while the Mavericks are coming off a 102-126 loss to the Golden State Warriors tonight.
The Lakers’ win over Denver saw Luka Doncic break out of his early slump with the franchise, scoring 32 points (10-22 FG), grabbing 10 rebounds, providing seven assists, and grabbing four steals.
Given that this was an important rivalry matchup for the Lakers, they’ll be encouraged by Luka’s form heading into a must-win game against the Mavericks.
Kyrie has had to carry a massive offensive load with the injuries on the Mavs roster and the lack of high-level perimeter creators since Doncic left. As a result, Kyrie was restricted to just 17 points (7-18 FG) on the night.
Hopefully, he can find his best self against the Lakers as the Mavericks need every bit of production they can get from him.
The Mavericks are riddled with injuries at the moment, so the Lakers have a strong opportunity to pick up a glamorous win at home. While Doncic’s first game back in Dallas will carry more vitriol to it in April, it’ll be fun to see how this first matchup plays out over the weekend.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
