Key Takeaways From Lakers-Mavericks Christmas Day Game
The Los Angeles Lakers have been struggling all season long and while things were looking good for them early on against the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day, things very quickly went south for the Lakers.
Taking a 54-43 lead into halftime, the Lakers were rolling and it seemed like they had a lot of balance on the offensive-end of the floor with LeBron James getting help from guys like Lonnie Walker IV, Austin Reaves and even Russell Westbrook.
Energy-wise, this team was playing physical and they seemed to be in control of the game.
Who knows whether it was the special Gatorade that the Mavericks drink or something else, but Dallas came out of the locker room and they immediately began to make every shot they took.
The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 51-21 in the third quarter, turning an 11-point halftime deficit into a 19-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
James carried the Lakers in the fourth quarter and looked to try and get within striking distance of the Mavericks, but Luka Doncic was not having it and Dallas held on to win by nine points.
The Mavs’ offense has been streaky all season long, but when their shots are falling from the perimeter, they can get red-hot as a team, which was the case here against Los Angeles.
Luka Doncic, Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 88 points and 10 made threes in this game, giving Dallas all they needed to get past the Lakers.
Much of what we knew about these two teams was displayed in this game on Christmas, but here are the three biggest takeaways from this game featuring the Lakers and Mavericks.
Dallas Lives And Dies By The Three
In total, the Mavericks went 18-44 from three-point range (40.9 percent), outscoring the Lakers by 27 points from the perimeter.
Shooting threes ultimately won the Mavericks this game, but in the first half, the three-ball resulted in them falling into an 11-point hole at halftime.
In the first half, the Mavs only shot 5-21 (23.8 percent) from three-point range and their inability to make shots on the perimeter was the main reason why the Lakers were able to attack them in transition and get easy looks in the paint.
Shooting 9-12 from three-point range in the third quarter and then going 4-7 from deep in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks went from shooting 23.8 percent from three-point land in the first half to shooting 68.4 percent from three-point land in the second half.
The Mavericks live and die by the three-point shot and while it certainly worked in this game against the Lakers, it is hard to imagine that this philosophy will carry them far into the playoffs.
Having a great balance of scoring in the paint and shooting from the perimeter is what makes a championship-level team and right now, the only player who has proven to have the capability to make plays for himself and score from anywhere on the floor for Dallas is Luka Doncic.
This was a great win, but it further showed the Mavericks’ flaws on the offensive-end of the floor.
Christian Wood Is The X-factor For The Mavericks This Season
As mentioned above, Luka Doncic cannot do everything for the Mavericks if they are to be a real title contender in the Western Conference and as a result, they will need to lean on none other than Christian Wood, their key offseason addition.
Wood instantly made an impact for Dallas coming off-the-bench, but now, he has been elevated to the starting rotation and he has been playing some of his best basketball in a Mavericks’ uniform.
Entering this game against Los Angeles, Wood had scored 20 points in three of his last six games and against the Lakers, he had himself a terrific game.
Playing a total of 38 minutes, the second-most minutes he has played this season, Wood recorded 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
This was an all-around complete game from Wood and this is exactly what the Mavericks are going to need from their big man if they are to compete at the highest level possible in the West.
He is truly the X-factor for this team not only because of his size and presence on the interior, but because Christian Wood can expand his game out to the perimeter and take pressure off of Doncic to have to do everything for this team.
Wood has proven to be the No. 2 guy for this team offensively next to Luka Doncic and that will need to continue for Dallas to find long-term success this season.
Los Angeles Is Lost
The Lakers just aren’t good and losing this game just adds more fuel to the fire that is burning this franchise to the ground.
They’re not just lost from a front-office perspective in terms of how this roster has been assembled, but this team just looks lost mentally. Very few times this season have they looked like one cohesive, collective unit and in this game against Dallas, their energy level was extremely low.
The Lakers look like a team that when they get down, they just shrug it off and say, “alright, it is on to the next one,” but you cannot do that when you are seven games below .500 and nowhere close to being a competitor in the Western Conference!
Granted that the West is extremely close right now and the Lakers are just four games behind the 6-seeded team in the win column, it is going to be extremely tough for them to make up ground that they have lost early on this season because LeBron James can only do so much and Anthony Davis is out with no timetable for his potential return.
This team was doomed from the very start of the season and given their inability to make a massive roster upgrade ahead of the trade deadline, the Lakers are on their way to missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season and the eighth time in the last ten seasons.
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