The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on Friday.

The Mavericks (0-1) have an uphill battle without Kristaps Porzingis and his absence was desperately missed in the opener. That's evident when you see that no one outside of Luka Doncic had more than 12 points. Doncic provided his typical 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists but it's hard to compete with a talented team like the Suns when there's not a lot of help. It's not like Porzingis is going to be back anytime soon either, so, they need players like Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr to carry more of the scoring load. It's not just KP's offense their missing though, as his rim protection is a major void as well. That was evident by the zero blocks that the Mavs had in the opener against Phoenix and one has to wonder how much longer they can survive without their big man.

The Lakers (0-1) suffered a loss against the Los Angeles Clippers in last year's opener and they ironically suffered the same fate this year. The good news is that things turned out fine after that defeat, navigating their way through a difficult year and parlaying it into an NBA Championship. What was clear in the opener is that these players need to figure out their roles. There are a ton of new pieces on this team and it appeared that LeBron James and Anthony Davis were taking a backseat to some of those newer players. Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder each recorded double-doubles in their debuts but this team isn't at its best unless James and Davis are carrying the load. That's all about chemistry though and this team will figure things out sooner rather than later.

These teams played four times last season, with Los Angeles winning three of four. In fact, the Lakers have won eight of their last nine games over the Mavs dating back three years.