In a Christmas day docket of games that featured a host of blowouts, the LA Lakers (1-1) easily dispatch the Dallas Mavericks (0-2) and pick up their first win of the season. None of the NBA’s holiday games were very competitive and this game was no different. This game was never really in question either as the Lakers took care of business and defeated Luka Doncic‘s Mavs 138-115. Dallas tried to make things interesting in the fourth quarter by cutting the lead to single digits, but in the end the reigning champs pulled away and emerged victorious, delivering a Christmas present that definitely put smiles on the faces of Lakers fans across the world.
STAR OF THE GAME:
Could have gone with LeBron James here (as pretty much always), but I decided to go with Anthony Davis. He had a game high 28 points on 10 out of 16 shooting to go with 8 rebounds, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. After a sub-par (for him) opening night game, the Brow looked very much like his usual star self and really shone for his team. He recently signed a max extension with the team during the offseason, so he better be putting up All-Star numbers like this every game. The team as a whole played well but Davis was who really stood out to me, making his presence felt on both ends of the floor. Being a force to be with reckoned with.
BIGGEST CONCERN:
Although overall I would say there is not a whole lot to worry about being that the team has not been together for very long (only a few weeks now) and they have yet to really get their legs under them after the shortest offseason in the history of American sports; I am going to have to go with Marc Gasol. I do not know if it is age or if it is being on a new team in a new town but Gasol has really looked lost the first two games of the season. In the opener he was in foul trouble the whole game and contributed pretty much nothing. In this game he did pull down 9 rebounds but only put 2 points off of a couple of made free throws. He played only 19 minutes to his backup Montrezl Harrell‘s 28 and was really outshone by him. Scoring is not his role on the team I know (defense and rebounding is), but in order for this team to get to its full potential he is going to need be pose some sort of threat on the offensive end.
SURPRISE CONTRIBUTION:
Hard for me to pick one out here because the biggest contributors were not surprising to me but in this instance I am going to choose Markieff Morris. He only took 5 shots, all of them 3’s, in his 15 minutes off the bench but he made 3 of them, putting up 9 points. He also collected 7 rebounds and looked very comfortable out there. He seems happy to be here after collecting his ring on opening night and is ready to go all the way again.
