The Lakers (24-15) will be on another second night of a back-to-back as they host the Toronto Raptors (25-18) at home on Sunday. This will be the final time they see the Raptors this season.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Toronto Raptors
When: 6:30 p.m. PT, Jan. 18
Where: Crypto.com Arena
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet
The Lakers just don’t have the juice right now. Their most recent loss to the Trail Blazers perfectly depicted that and it doesn’t help that they’re in the midst of one of the most grueling stretches
in their schedule. As a result, they’ve lost six out of their last 10 games and have now dropped to the sixth seed of the Western Conference.
There are a lot of obstacles in the purple and gold’s way right now: key players in and out of the lineup, the absence of Austin Reaves and the fact that their flaws, especially on the defensive side of the ball, have been more exposed as of late. There’s obviously no solution to this besides getting healthy and a trade, which right now is not in their control.
What the Lakers can control, though, is their effort every game, which they badly need to do if they want stop losing games.
On Sunday, the Lakers are stumbling upon a really good Raptors team, one that’s not going to be easy to play on a back-to-back. This is the best the Raptors have looked in years because Brandon Ingram has been a huge asset, averaging 21.8 points per game. Knowing that he’s playing in Lakers territory on Sunday, it’s fair to expect him to go all out in this one. It helps Ingram that he has reliable role players around him such as Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, who is listed as questionable for this one.
The Raptors’ biggest strength all season has been their defense, which ranks fifth in the league. It’s especially good during clutch time, to the point that Los Angeles needed a game-winner from Rui Hachimura to save them in their last match against the Raptors. Toronto has a penchant for keeping games close and performing well in the clutch, which explains why they are the third-best team in the league in late-game scenarios — right after the Lakers and Thunder.
It’s going to be a tough ask for the Lakers to beat a scrappy and young team given how they’re playing right now, but it’s also something they’ve accomplished in the past. The last time they were blown out on the first night of a back-to-back, they put together one of their best performances the following night. Hopefully, it’s the same case for this one because they really could afford a win in this difficult stretch of theirs right now.
Notes and Updates
- For the Raptors’ injury report, RJ Barrett (left ankle sprain), Jakob Poeltl (lower back strain) and Ja’Kobe Walter (right hip pointer) are out. Immanuel Quickley (back spasms) and Jamison Battle (left ankle sprain) are questionable.
- Since they played on Saturday, the Lakers haven’t released an injury report yet for this one. But as expected, Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) will be out.
- It’s uncertain what the status of Luka Dončić (left groin soreness), Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness) and Jaxson Hayes (hamstring tendinopathy) will be for this one.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
