Now that football season has ended, Dominick will predict two of the top NBA games each week.
Los Angeles Lakers @ Philadelphia ’76ers: Thursday 7:30
The Lakers’ season has been up and down. This team was supposed to be the dominant team in the league this year. Some NBA experts and analyst predicted the Lakers to win 70 games. The team has been hit by the injury bug, however. Rick Fox has been out most of the season. The “Mailman,” Karl Malone, also went down with a knee injury in early January. The injury was supposed to be minor, but it ended up being a severe injury. He will be out until March when, hopefully, the Lakers’ playoff run is still alive. I think the Lakers will be fine when he comes back. Hopefully the Lakers will have Kobe Bryant back for this Thursday’s game at the ’76ers. He has been out for the past week with an injury to his pinky finger. On the other hand, the ’76ers have also been hit by the injury bug; Allen Iverson has missed a lot of games this season due to all sorts of injuries. Forward Glen Robinson has missed the beginning of the season with injuries as well. Derrick Coleman has also just been added to the ’76ers injured reserve. No one expected the ’76ers to be hit by the injuries so early in the season. I think this will be an exciting game if Kobe Bryant can play. Can we say Allen vs. Kobe?! If not, I still think the Lakers can hang with the ’76ers because the ’76ers don’t have a big man that can hang with Shaq. But if Kobe does play then the Lakers should win by double digits.
Prediction: Lakers 105 ’76ers 93 Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Hornets: Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
The Dallas Mavericks are a team that is very inconsistent. One night they will beat a good team, then the next night they will lose to a sorry team. The effort by this team isn’t there. This team has just about an all-star line-up. Everyone wants the ball on this team – there just aren’t enough to go around. This team is lacking a big man in the middle. Until it gets a big man, it will continue to struggle and play inconsistently. The Mavericks’ defense is horrible. Almost every night this team allows its opposition to score 100 points or more. The Hornets have struggled with the injury bug all year round, as well. Jamal Mashburn has finally returned to the starting line-up after missing almost the first half of the season with injuries. The key question is: Can he stay healthy enough to take this team deep into the playoffs in the East? The same question goes for point guard Baron Davis, who has had a stellar season so far. His play has been outstanding, but injuries have really hurt him this season. This Wednesday’s game will be a shootout. Look for the score to be in the hundreds. I think Dallas will win this close one, because of its offense. I think Nash and Nowitzki will have a big game, and look for Nowitzki to come up big in the end.
Prediction:Mavs 112 Hornets 107