NBA 2018-19, Los Angeles Lakers vs Los Angeles Clippers: Preview and prediction
Los Angeles Lakers (20-14) vs Los Angeles Clippers (20-15), Staples Center
Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers will face each other tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Both the teams faced Sacramento Kings in their last game. Lakers had a close loss against them, whereas the Clippers defeated them.
It will be a battle for the fourth place in the Western Conference standings, currently held by the Clippers. Clippers currently rank third in scoring and will love to maintain the winning momentum.
Also, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell lead the NBA in bench scoring which will be an important factor tonight.
Lakers, on the other hand, play their second game in two days and have no time to rest. LeBron and Rondo are still questionable so, they might have a tough night here.
Let us see how things stand for both teams tonight.
The Los Angeles Lakers perspective
Lakers are sitting at fifth place in the Western Conference standings just below their opponents tonight.
LeBron-less Lakers lost to the Kings yesterday in a well-fought battle. Kyle Kuzma stood up in the absence of LeBron James. He scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds as well.
Brendon Ingram scored 22 points for the night, while Lonzo Ball had a near triple-double. Lonzo ended up with 20 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had another off night with just 4 points in 28 minutes of play. Tyson Chandler and Lance Stephenson both had points in double figures coming off the bench.
As a team, they are averaging 113.2 points and shooting 48% from the field. They are grabbing 46.1 rebounds per game and shooting nearly 35% from beyond the three-point line.
One thing is clear that Lakers can play even without their star man LeBron. They will be looking to go one up the standings tonight.