Mavericks at Lakers preview: Dallas seeks the series sweep against the woeful Lakers

First of all, I don't really know what to say with this preview. The Lakers are pretty well set for avoiding giving their 1st round pick to the Sixers, and the Mavs are firmly locked into the 7th seed. So what is there really to play for here?

No but really, what is there to play for?

While the Lakers are for once buried in the avalanche of their inadequacy, Dallas may yet gain their first 50-win season
since 2011. That is literally the only thing left to play for. Otherwise, it's all about getting healthy for the playoffs.

I have no idea who is playing in this game. Probably Ray Felton will be the hero again. Because why the hell not?

The Lakers are currently the 4th worse team by record, and if they aren't in the worst 5, their 1st round pick goes to Philadelphia. So... everyone is sort of invested in having Dallas win this game, right?

What have the Lakers done lately?

The Lakers are 1-6 so far in the month of April. Nick Young and Jordan Hill are carrying the Lakers. This is where they are right now. Friday night, the Lakers actually looked pretty decent against the T-Wolves, with the entire starting lineup scoring in double figures. Ryan Kelly, Jabari Brown, Jordan Clarkson, and Tarik Black are all playing well of late. No, I haven't heard of any of these people either. (I'm only joking a little.)

Who even plays for the Lakers these days and is there anyone worth watching?

L.A.'s starting power forward Ryan Kelly has had a couple of good games for the Lakers. He hit 5-6 3-pointers against Minny, and shot 75% against Denver a couple of nights before. Dirk has proven that he isn't too interested in chasing guys around the three point line anymore, so this may be an interesting matchup. Jordan Clarkson has also hit double digit scoring in the past three games, and unless Rondo is back Sunday, the 6-5 rookie point guard will look to do some more damage against the Mavs.

Who has it all more, Monta or Swaggy P?

Well, Monta is our guy right? But Swaggy is fun as hell, and Monta pouted his way all around the court in overtime against Denver. I have an irrational love for Swaggy, who should honestly be the player-coach of the Lakers. I mean, how much fun would that be?

Unfortunately, Swaggy P has a knee injury and won't be playing. So Monta shouldn't have much competition in the "have it all department."

How many points will the Mavs win by?

I would like to say a lot, but after the double overtime debacle in Denver, is anyone convinced of that? Honestly, Felton, Sarge, and Powell should play a lot of minutes in Los Angeles, and the Mavs should still win comfortably. That is the way this game ought to go. But with these Mavs, who knows?

Ideally, none of the starters will play a lot of minutes. Dallas needs rest and health going into the playoffs, and this game is the definition of meaningless.

Game information

8:30 p.m. Central on Fox Sports Southwest. It's a Sunday game, so LA will be wearing white. So everyone enjoy that I guess?