We all know why this game was suddenly thrown onto ESPN. But on its own, this is a cool offering: the Indiana Pacers, 7-3 in their last 10 and fourth in the East, visiting the Los Angeles Lakers, 8-2 in their last 10 and fifth in the West. LeBron James is coming off a sensational game on Wednesday, while the blue-flame Pacers are 19-6 since their mid-December turnaround.

And still … we all know why this game was flexed. Following one of the most shocking and alluring trades in sports history, all eyes are on L.A. Play us in, ‘Pac:

How to watch Indiana Pacers at Los Angeles Lakers

Dave McMenamin reported that Luka Dončić plans to make his L.A. debut Monday against the Utah Jazz. The Slovenian superstar and new purple-gold franchise gemstone was on the bench for Wednesday’s win over the Golden State Warriors. But wait, why look off to the sideline when LeBron James has Gamebreaker out on the floor. The 40-year-old finished with 42 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists on 56/67/80 shooting splits. It was one of the best single-game performances of the year.

The chaos around The Trade (proper noun) masks a super interesting Lakers team. They’ve stitched together two separate four-game winning streaks since Jan. 21. Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura are leveling up. Dorian Finney-Smith is getting comfortable. The Dončić Chronicles will be must-see TV for the rest of the season.

Well, wait, there’s another NBA team here, and it’s a good one! Indiana gets buckets: ninth in offensive rating, fourth in field goal percentage, four players still averaging at least 15 points per game. Myles Turner has outwitted, outplayed and outlasted. Benjamin Mathurin is having his most efficient season. Pascal Siakam is now a three-time All-Star.

And Tyrese Haliburton’s been absolutely diming despite a slight dip in offensive production. He’s fifth in the league in assists per game at 8.5, while averaging just 1.8 turnovers. For reference … James (fourth) averages 3.8 turnovers; Cade Cunningham (third) is at 4.4; Nikola Jokić (second) is at 3.1; Trae Young (first) is at 4.7.

Much of the basketball world will be frantically checking for Dončić updates. But this is a cool national look regardless of his availability.

Starting five of players to wear both jerseys (min. 50 games with each franchise):

• G — Lance Stephenson
• G — Byron Scott
• F — Metta World Peace (Ron Artest)
• F — Sam Perkins
• C — James Edwards

(Photo of Luka Dončić: Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)