Game Preview: Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki duel one last time in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers are in one of their worst ruts of the season, just one loss away from matching their worst losing streak of the '15-16 campaign, and host the banged up Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night. Devin Harris, Zaza Pachulia and Jeremy Evans are all considered questionable with minor injuries, while Larry Nance, Jr. is expected to return to the Lakers' starting lineup.

Kobe Bryant pointed his criticism at defensive lapses from D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle in what's now been called a "passionate" speech to light a fire under a team that's putting up as much resistance as a a pile of ashes. The Lakers look disinterested coming out of the gates of most games, letting teams run up and down the court for uncontested layups and open threes. 46 games into the season, it's easier to say "more of the same" in regards to the lack of defensive effort.

The Lakers have almost crossed the finish line of a disappointing January, winning just three games through the month thus far. It's gotten harder to find reasons to tune in to these bumbling Lakers, but the final game between Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe is reason enough to show up to see what kind of product the purple and gold put on the floor.

Enjoy the game, which hopefully features a little vino being poured by both Dirk and Kobe.

Time: 7:30 PT

TV: TWCSN, FSSW, NBATV