Weekend lookahead: Is Kobe Bryant out for revenge on Dwyane Wade?

Games to watch: Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, Friday; Miami at L.A. Lakers, Sunday
This could be a good weekend for vengeance in L.A.

First up is Sacramento, the team that delivered the Lakers a 100-91 loss in the second game of the season, pretty thoroughly exposing the Lakers’ ongoing problems with guard play—Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans combined for 47 points to lead the Kings. The Lakers have dominated Sacramento in recent years, winning nine of their last 10 before this season, and they’ll try to return to form on that front Friday.

But the game everyone will be watching comes on Sunday, when masked man Kobe Bryant faces the player who knocked his nose out of whack and gave him a concussion to boot, Miami’s Dwyane Wade. During last Sunday’s All-Star Game, Wade swiped at a rebound and caught Bryant in the face. Bryant finished the game and went through the league’s concussion protocol, but had to be fitted for a mask he will wear until the nose heals.

There has been much talk of whether Wade’s foul was intentional and how the Lakers will repay Wade, but Bryant tried to defuse such chatter on Wednesday.

“It was very simple, he didn’t mean to do it,” Bryant told reporters. “He’s not that kind of person. ... He’s a nicer guy than I am, to be honest with you. He’s just not the type of person who would do something like that.”

Player to watch: Brook Lopez, Nets
Lopez has been the subject of much attention this season, but not for the best of reasons. When the Nets emerged as the prime suitors for Magic center Dwight Howard, it was Lopez who was the key piece in a potential deal. But then Lopez injured his foot and derailed the team’s pursuit of Howard. He returned on February 19, but it wasn’t until Tuesday that he reminded us just how good an offensive big man he can be, when he dropped in 38 points on 17-for-28 shooting against the Mavericks.

“We kind of took the handcuffs off him,” coach Avery Johnson said. “We weren’t putting him on a minute restriction. We’ve got a pretty good schedule right now and he got a pretty good rest over the All-Star break, so we just kept feeding him.” Lopez has good matchups this weekend against the Celtics and Bobcats.

Matchup to watch: Arron Afflalo vs. Danny Green, Nuggets at Spurs, Sunday
Yes, on a team that includes Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, it is Danny Green who should most concern the Nuggets. That’s because Green has put up 16 or more points only four times in his career, and two of those came in high-scoring wins over Denver this year.

Back on Jan. 7, Green posted a career-high 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting to lead the Spurs to a 121-117 win. Then, on Feb. 23, Green went for 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Green has scored 277 points this season—14.4 percent of them came in those two games against Denver.

On a roll: Indiana
One thing that has been consistent about the Pacers all year is that they rarely lose to teams they should beat— they have just three losses to teams that are currently below .500.

So give them a stretch in which they play four of five at home against the Bobcats twice, plus the Nets, Hornets and Warriors, and you’re probably going to wind up with a five-game winning streak. Which is exactly what the Pacers have going, with a Saturday game in New Orleans up next. Things will toughen up starting on Monday when the Pacers go to Chicago, the first of nine straight playoff teams Indiana will face.

Getting desperate: Philadelphia
The Sixers have lost six of seven, and Wednesday’s loss to the Thunder was particularly troubling.

Early in the year, Philadelphia was young and confident, but that confidence has dried up; against Oklahoma City, the Sixers had 11 straight misses that turned a seven-point lead into a loss. For a team that doesn't rebound well (the Sixers are 24th in rebound rate, at 48.7 percent) and doesn't get to the foul line much (last in percentage of points from free throws, at 14.3), scoring in transition is key. But when teams slowed the Sixers into a halfcourt team, the results haven’t been pretty. The Sixers get the Warriors Friday and the Bulls on Sunday.