The Los Angeles Lakers begin a tough midwest two-day road trip Wednesday night facing the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The Lakers over the next two nights will face the teams with the best and third-best records in the Western Conference, as they travel to Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

The final two games before the All-Star break will show us just how the Lakers respond to the players only meeting called on Monday by Kobe Bryant after the Lakers beat Portland 103-92 at Staples Center. The Lakers return to Dallas Wednesday night for the first time since getting swept out of the playoffs by the Mavericks last May.

The Mavericks (21-12) are 7-2 in their last nine games and are 13-5 at home this season. The Lakers (19-13) meanwhile are just 5-11 on the road, though they are 4-4 in their last eight contests away from Staples Center. The Lakers beat Dallas 73-70 on January 16 at Staples Center, a game in which the Lakers scored a franchise low (in the shot clock era) seven points in the third quarter.

Derek Fisher hit a game-winning three-pointer in that game in January, but it has been a disappointing season for the point guard. I was going to point out Fisher was only averaging 5.8 points and 2.5 assists per game since the shot while shooting 35.4% from the field and 26.9% from three-point range, but those numbers are in line with his season totals (5.2 points, 3.5 assists, 36.0 FG%, 25.0 three-point percentage).

Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. PST game will be televised by ESPN and KCAL. For more Lakers news and information, be sure to read Silver Screen and Roll.