Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton are both set to make their debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in front of the fans inside the Crypto.com Arena on New Year’s Ever. But their first game won’t be an easy one as the Lakers are set to host the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the best record in the NBA.
The Lakers have won six of their last eight thanks largely to an improved defense and the belief is that both Finney-Smith and Milton will help improve that even further. With Gabe Vincent out due to an oblique injury, Milton should get a look in the rotation right away.
L.A. is in for a stiff test as the Cavaliers’ offense is an elite one that ran the Lakers off the court in their first meeting this season.
The Cavaliers rank first in offensive efficiency and 3-point percentage as they shoot 40.8% from deep as a team. But they also rank in the top-10 in points in the paint, fourth in turnovers per game and second in points off turnovers so they are extremely efficient and make few mistakes while capitalizing off the opposition’s.
Anthony Davis was a force against the Sacramento Kings and needs to be at that level against the Cavaliers’ big man duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, who are tough to deal with in the paint. LeBron James always loves to have a big game against his former team and has had a few days off to rest up as well.
The biggest key for the Lakers offensively, however, is Austin Reaves maintaining that aggressiveness in getting to the paint and creating. When Reaves is going strong, the Lakers are a much better team and as long as the role players are knocking down their open shots, the playmakers will keep finding them.
Max Christie has done a good job of making things tough on opposing guards, and he has another tall task in front of him in Donovan Mitchell, one of the best 1-on-1 scorers in the league today. Not to mention Darius Garland is more than capable of taking over any game as well and they’re surrounded by shooters who are not shy in the likes of Dean Wade, Georges Niang, Sam Merrill and one of the best sixth men in the league in Caris LeVert.
Simply put, the Lakers must play one of their best games of the season in order to take down this extremely impressive Cavaliers team. At times, the Lakers have shown they can hang with anyone, but they must play at that level for 48 minutes to end 2024 with a win.
Cleveland Cavaliers (28-4) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (18-13)
7:30 p.m. PT, Tuesday, December 31
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Austin Reaves
SG: Max Christie
SF: Rui Hachimura
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Dorian Finney-Smith, Dalton Knecht, Shake Milton, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes
Projected Cavaliers Starting Lineup:
PG: Darius Garland
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: Dean Wade
PF: Evan Mobley
C: Jarrett Allen
Key Reserves: Caris LeVert, Max Strus, Georges Niang, Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill
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