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WHO: Dallas Mavericks @ LA Lakers
WHAT: The second night of a West Coast back to back
WHEN: 9:30pm Central (another late start!)
WHERE: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
HOW: FSSW, Fox Sports Go, or NBA League Pass
THE STORY: After winning in Sacramento despite a number of players sitting, the Mavericks will again be shorthanded tonight. Dallas will be without Dorian Finney-Smith and J.J. Barea; Nerlens Noel and Dwight Powell, who also sat last night, are still listed as day-to-day.
Although the Lakers have won considerably more games than the Mavericks this season, both teams are ending the season in a sort of purgatory, eliminated from the playoffs but not bad enough to have good odds at a very high draft pick (not that it would matter for the Lakers, who don’t own their pick this year).
So the person with the most to play for tonight is perhaps Julius Randle, who enters restricted free agency this summer. He’s been both highly effective against the Mavericks this summer and repeatedly linked to the team in trade and offseason rumors. Look for another big game from him as the Lakers try to end the season 3-1 against Dallas.