GAME 19: DAL (13-6) @ LAL (17-3) | 114-100 win

[j0Shi]

Keys:

• Lakers best in biz: The Lakers are certainly on a tear lately, winners of the last 10 and owning the best record in the association at 17-2. Their streak however mostly came at the expense of sub .500 teams. So the next three (Dallas, Denver, Utah) are important for them to show that they're a legit #1. 
  
• Mavs got robbed: In the first matchup the L2M report confirmed that the Mavs should have won the game. Howard held Curry so he was unable to close the passing lane to Green, who eventually made the shot that sent the game to overtime. Of course the NBA doesn't have the guts to just give the W to the Mavs, which would have been the obvious choice. So I guess we'll have to earn the win the hard way at Staples.
  
• KP vs. AD: Davis took on the challenge of guarding KP in the first matchup and did decently well on both ends of the floor. If the Mavs again don't want Porzingis to cover him then we could be looking at another strong outing from AD. DP is no match for him.
  
• Luka vs. LeBron: Luka always gets up for games against his idol. Plus it's EU friendly tipoff. Plus it's Dirk and Luka's mom in the audience.
  
• Lakers supporting cast: It's hard to find the "third guy" on the Lakers team. It's easy to point to Kuzma, but there have been five to six guys that score in the 8 - 11 PPG range. It's similar to the Mavs that have a deep bench but not a sixth man type of player that can take over games off the bench.
  
• THJ: Many thought THJ might be such a dude that can give you a consistent 10-15 PPG, but it was actually the insertion into the starting unit that got him going. Dude is averaging 20 very efficient points and we sure could need another strong outing from him today.
  
• Brunson vs. JJB: A lot of folks are calling for JJB lately on Twitter, but I'm not a fan at all. I like his role and would much rather see Brunson trying to figure it out. He hasn't been that bad either, but it's currently hard for him playing only 10 minutes as Luka's reserve.