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It's time for the Lakers to win a game on the road. There have been a lot of excuses for why they haven't - some valid, some not - but we can all agree that dropping their first four contests away from home is pretty ridiculous. Dropping a fifth tonight would be infuriating.
The Dallas Mavericks haven't been setting the league on fire, exactly. For the past couple weeks they've been trading off wins and losses and currently sit at 7-6. Dirk Nowitzki is still out, but the Mavs have been kept afloat in his absence by quality work from O.J. Mayo, Darren Collison, Chris Kaman and Vince Carter. Dallas ranks 9th in the league in pace, 9th in offensive effiency and 21st in defensive efficiency.
On the Lakers' side of the action, all eyes will be on Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, the vanishing frontcourt All-Stars. If these two play poorly again in yet another road loss... man, I don't even know.