The Lakers stretched their season record to 12-9 with a 104-96 win over the Indiana Pacers yesterday in which LeBron James posted up 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
And with the Mavericks hot on their heels in the Western Conference, the four-time MVP will hope to inspire Luke Walton’s team to another win at Staples Center tonight (3.30am UK time tip-off/7.30pm Friday PST).
LA have been inconsistent to start the season and will hope to find some fluency as they seek to end a five-year playoff drought, starting off with a second consecutive win in their first season match-up with Dallas.
But NBA legend Charles Barkley has bad news for the LeBron-led Lakers – who have relied upon the 33-year-old to bear the brunt of responsibility.
And that’s that their current roster will not be successful in the West unless they commit to winning this season or building for the future.
Barkley said: “Luke Walton, is he trying to win now? Or is he trying to build for the future? They should have just sacrificed this year.
“I don’t understand why they signed all those old guys. they put Luke Walton in a situation; ‘Hey, I’m getting criticised when we don’t win. Am I going to play my young guys and build for the future or am I going to play Lance [Stephenson], JaVale [McGee]?’
“It’s just not a good mix. They’re not going to win and that’s plain and simple.”
But the Lakers will look to prove Barkley and their doubters wrong this year and Express Sport has all the details of how to watch Lakers vs Mavericks.
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Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks LIVE STREAM
Sky Sports are the exclusive rights holders for NBA in the UK.
However, tonight’s game will not be shown on Sky.
Sky will instead be showing the earlier game between the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs.
To stream the Lakers vs the Pacers for free, fans can watch through Bet365’s website and apps, so long as they have funds in their account.
Alternatively fans can purchase the NBA League Pass.
There are numerous packages the NBA League Pass offers with the premium account offering coverage from every team, every game and exclusive features for an annual fee of £214.99.
The next one down covers every team and every game for an annual fee of £184.99.
While if you wanted to stick to just one team then it will cost £99.99 for the season or a day pass will cost £4.99.