WATCH: Lakers at Mavericks on Playback

LeBron James looks to get LA back on track.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping to pounce on a wounded Dallas Mavericks squad tonight at 7:30 PM. You can watch the game live with Tony Pesta and Jackson Flickinger on Playback.

The Lakers enter this game with a 20-15 record, placing them 5th in the Western Conference. That might sound like a jolly position to be in — but the standings are so tight that LA is actually only three games out of the 11th spot. With so much on the line every night, the Lakers can’t afford to drop a game where they have a clear advantage as this one.

Dallas has been gutted by injuries in recent weeks. It’s bad enough that they lost their perennial MVP candidate Luka Doncic for at least a month. But now, they are without Kyrie Irving, as well. This team was never built to sustain an injury to both of their crown jewels. It will be tough to see how the Mavs can generate enough offensive output without Irving or Doncic — even if their defensive personal remains strong.

This should be a prime opportunity for the Lakers to gain ground in the West. As of now, both James and Anthony Davis are expected to play. Their recent trade for Dorian Finney-Smith has reunited James with a traditional floor-spacing wing that he’s so often lacked in Los Angeles. This is a good blueprint to follow if the Lakers hope to turn the corner and compete for a title before the oldest player in the NBA is no longer able to elevate his game.

If you want to watch games with us — either tonight or in the future — it’s super easy to sign up:

• First, head over to playback.tv and create an account with your email address
• Then connect and select your NBA League Pass login as your streaming account (sign up for League Pass here first if you don’t have it)
• After that, go to https://www.playback.tv/fearthesword and hit the JOIN button
• Finally, make sure to activate push notifications so you know when we’re going live!

You can join in on all of the action HERE. We will be live shortly after 7:30 pm, and you can also listen in right here on FTS in the player below.