Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. and rookie Ivica Zubac are both listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Nance Jr., who sprained his right wrist on Sunday night, after getting awkwardly tangled up with DeMarcus Cousins amidst a blocked shot attempt, was able to participate in the entirety of Monday’s practice.
Nance did, however, opt to go with his left hand, rather than his taped up right, when shooting half-court shots with the rest of the team at the end of practice. Zubac did not practice on Monday, after missing Sunday’s game with a quad contusion. In Zubac’s absence, Timofey Mozgov finally saw some time in the rotation, finishing with eight points, five rebounds and a blocked shot in his 15 minutes.
The Los Angeles Lakers (19-44) take on the Dallas Mavericks (26-36) on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. The last time the Lakers played the Mavericks (at the end of January), marked not only their worst loss of the year, but their worst loss in franchise history.
Their 49-point margin of defeat was a historic low and they also had season lows in points (73), field goals made (28) and three-point percentage (.143 on 3-21 shooting). The Lakers were also without D’Angelo Russell for their last matchup, who suffered a right knee injury a couple days prior.
The Mavericks will see a bit of a different Lakers team on Tuesday, as head coach Luke Walton has committed the rest of the season to developing their young talent, often sitting both Luol Deng and Mozgov.
Dallas is also a different team from the last matchup as they acquired athletic big man Nerlens Noel at the trade deadline. Additionally, the Mavericks released veterans Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut and undrafted rookie Yogi Ferrell has taken over at the point guard spot.
