On April 8th, the Lakers are about to face the league - leading Thunder again. They defeated the Thunder by a large margin in the previous game, and Bronny even came onto the court and made a three - pointer. This game is the second consecutive meeting between the Lakers and the Thunder. However, a problem for the Lakers is that this game is part of a back - to - back. After playing against the Thunder, they will play against the Mavericks. Although the Mavericks don't have a high ranking, they are the team that traded away Luka Doncic and still have Anthony Davis, who was traded by the Lakers. So, there is a lot of drama in these games.
Because of the game against the Mavericks, even though the rematch between the Lakers and the league - leading team, which is also a potential playoff opponent, is clearly full of看点, the topic of Luka Doncic's away game against his former team has overshadowed it. For the entire Lakers team, they also need to strive to beat the Mavericks to give Luka Doncic some face. Currently, the Lakers are stronger than the Mavericks. If they play seriously, the probability of winning is quite high.
Before the game against the Thunder, the Lakers released an injury report, indicating that several core and key players such as LeBron James and Luka Doncic are questionable to play. In the past, when LeBron James was listed as questionable, it was usually assumed that he would play. But this time is different. The outside world generally believes that players like LeBron James and Luka Doncic won't play because of the upcoming game against the Mavericks. There are also views suggesting that the Lakers seem to be deliberately resting multiple key players in the game against the Thunder. This game is not being broadcast nationwide.
It is also thought that the Thunder might do the same (since the Thunder have already locked in the first place in the Western Conference and don't need to go all out). This is the Lakers' last back - to - back of the season, and the second game is a grudge match for Luka Doncic: he will return to the Mavericks' home court as a visiting player for the first time to play against his former team, the Mavericks.
