PHOTO: AP
LOS ANGELES When LeBron James checked the stat sheet as he left the Staples Center court after his latest high-scoring Christmas victory, he realized the Lakers had scored 138 points with a mere 22 from him.
The NBA champions already look like they could be even better this year. In their second game of the new season, even Luka Doncic didn t stand a chance of keeping up.
Anthony Davis scored 28 points and James became the second-leading Christmas scorer in NBA history during the Los Angeles Lakers 138-115 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Montrezl Harrell scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, and Dennis Schröder had 18 points and six assists in a second strong game for both new additions to the champs. Los Angeles outrebounded Dallas 53-27 and closed out its first win of the season with a dominant fourth quarter.
Oh, wait. That s exactly what happened.
Yes, after only 72 days away, NBA basketball is back!
Are the Lakers a lock for another title, or could a reshuffled franchise like the LA Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers or Brooklyn Nets catch them? Will back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, fresh off signing his max extension, deliver a ring to the Milwaukee Bucks?
Here s what you need to know about the league s contenders, pretenders and every team in between ahead of a 2020-21 season unlike any other.
Note: Our NBA Power Rankings are based on which teams voters (a group of more than 40 reporters, insiders and editors) think belong higher heading into the 2020-21 season. Title odds and over/under wins totals were provided by Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.
Despite the improvements they made in the 2020 offseason, the Dallas Mavericks are still not on the same level as other Western Conference powerhouse teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. In order to have a legitimate chance of competing for the 2021 NBA championship title, the Mavericks should continue looking for ways to surround Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis with quality players. In a recent article, Dalton Trigg of
Sports Illustrated discussed how Dallas could land Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers before the 2021 trade deadline.
To acquire Oladipo and Turner, Trigg suggested that the Mavericks could offer a package centered on Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Pacers. In the proposed scenario, Dallas would be sending Hardaway Jr., one of James Johnson and Dwight Powell, a young player, and some future draft compensation to Indiana in exchange for Oladipo and Turner.
Oh, wait. That s exactly what happened.
Yes, after only 72 days away, NBA basketball is back!
Are the Lakers a lock for another title, or could a reshuffled franchise like the LA Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers or Brooklyn Nets catch them? Will back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, fresh off signing his max extension, deliver a ring to the Milwaukee Bucks?
Here s what you need to know about the league s contenders, pretenders and every team in between ahead of a 2020-21 season unlike any other.
Note: Our NBA Power Rankings are based on which teams voters (a group of more than 40 reporters, insiders and editors) think belong higher heading into the 2020-21 season. Title odds and over/under wins totals were provided by Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.
Willie Cauley-Stein can make an impact if he wants to
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Willie Cauley-Stein joined the Mavericks last season after advanced-stats-hero Dwight Powell was lost to a torn Achilles. His playing time was brief; he appeared in 13 games before Covid cut the season short.
The birth of his first child prevented him from joining Dallas in the bubble, but the front office apparently saw enough from the athletic big to bring him back on a 2-year, $8.2 million contract. In a small, but not minuscule, sample size he did have some bright spots last year. In those 13 games, 1.46 points per possession as a roll man place him in the 93.5 percentile. In transition, he was elite; his 1.67 PPP was good for fourth in the league. Again, small sample sizes, but you can see the gaps in this roster a player like Cauley-Stein could fill.