The Lakers (19-7) are back in Los Angeles for a couple of days as they continue their road trip against the LA Clippers (6-21) on Saturday. This will be the second time these two teams have seen each other this season. The Lakers won the first matchup.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. L.A. Clippers
When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Dec. 20
Where: Intuit Dome
Watch: NBA TV, Spectrum Sportsnet
The Battle for LA isn’t as entertaining this season for more reasons than one. The biggest being that the Clippers have significantly
underperformed this season, to the point that they’re now sitting in 14th place in the competitive Western Conference standings. The Clippers are 1-9 in their last 10 and 3-8 at home.
It’s almost like it feels right to pity them, but then again, why should the Lakers do that? If anything, now is the chance to continue stomping on them while they’re down, and there’s no better opportunity for the purple and gold to do that than at the Intuit Dome.
The Lakers will enter this match as winners of their last two, while the Clippers have lost five in a row.
On top of being in the midst of a five-game losing streak, the Clippers have dropped all the way to 22nd in the league in offensive rating and 26th in defensive rating. The stats indicate that they’ve gotten worse since the Lakers last beat them in November, but they’ll likely still turn it up a notch like they always do when they play the Lakers.
Speaking of their last encounter, that was the same game when Luka Dončić and Kris Dunn went at it to the point that Dončić even said he was going to cover Jaxson Hayes’ fine.
The animosity between the two players will likely continue on Saturday, and it’ll be interesting to see if that sparks this matchup. Remember, Dončić already doesn’t like the Clippers, and the last thing they need is Dunn getting under his skin. Hopefully, another classic Luka game is on the way because it’s always a joy to watch him beat the Clippers.
Aside from Dončić, James Harden also played really well for the Clippers in their last matchup and he’ll likely do so again. It’ll be important for the Lakers’ defense to step up against Harden, and it’ll be interesting to see if that means more of Jarred Vanderbilt and Marcus Smart on the floor.
The Lakers will need a lot more production on defense to make up for the loss of Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and possibly Rui Hachimura on offense.
Remember, Reaves and Hachimura combined for 41 points against the Clippers last time, with the former going on a dominant second-half run. The Lakers will certainly miss Reaves, but they’ve shown in the last two games that they have enough depth to make up for his absence.
Hopefully, this one will be another strong win for the Lakers, who aim to remain perfect on this current four-game road trip before Christmas Day.
They’ve been playing really well on the road this season and while Los Angeles isn’t really considered a road game for them, it’s always fun to be the villain to the home team — especially if that home team is the Clippers. Let’s see if the Lakers can successfully do that on Saturday.
Notes and Updates
- For the Lakers’ injury report, Rui Hachimura (right groin soreness) is questionable.
- Deandre Ayton (left elbow soreness), Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Gabe Vincent (low back soreness) are out.
- Bronny James Jr. will be with the South Bay Lakers.
- As for the Clippers, Bradley Beal (left hip fracture), Derrick Jones Jr. (right knee sprain) and Yanic Niderhauser (left knee soreness) are out. Cam Christie (right foot soreness) is questionable.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
