The Los Angeles Lakers are finding themselves in a nice groove, riding a two-game winning streak after blowing out the Dallas Mavericks, 127-110. Since resorting to the starters that began the season, L.A.’s offense looks more fluid having both D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves out there.
After taking a dip below .500, the purple and gold are now 21-21 and looking to stack wins as a six-game road trip looms. The next two games are winnable as both the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers are well below .500. Given where they are at in the standings, these are wins that the Lakers desperately need as they look to climb back into the playoff picture.
With the Nets coming to town on Friday, there has been a slight change as ESPN will televise the game due to the Golden State Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks game postponement. Unfortunately, tragedy struck on Wednesday when Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic died at the age of 46 after having a heart attack at a team dinner. This is the second game that has been postponed for Golden State, via Ben Cafardo of ESPN:
?Due to the Golden State Warriors vs. Dallas Mavericks game postponement on 1/19, ESPN will air the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Brooklyn Nets game at 10:30P ET. The ESPN telecast is subject to local blackout restrictions in the L.A. market. NBA Countdown will precede the game at 10P. pic.twitter.com/FgFEvA8Lze
— Ben Cafardo (@Ben_ESPN) January 18, 2024
Adding another nationally televised game for the Lakers is nothing new as each season they are one of the most televised teams in the NBA. But for the Nets, this serves as a chance to pull off an upset on national television. Brooklyn find themselves in the midst of a four-game losing streak and are currently 1-9 in their last 10 games, recently losing to the Trail Blazers at the buzzer.
Despite the Nets being a rebuilding team, they still features some quality young talent in Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas, who both average over 20 points a game. They are two players capable of having tremendous individual performances, especially now that game is nationally televised and under the bright lights of L.A.
However, the Lakers need to take this game seriously because if a young team hangs around and builds confidence as the game progresses, things can get dicey, especially with a national audience watching. While it is a great opportunity for the Nets to get some national coverage, this is another chance for L.A. to continue its winning ways.
Anthony Davis believes defense & rebounding will be key for Lakers
Head coach Darvin Ham tried a defensive-minded starting lineup, but the offense clearly was suffering and the defense was not impressive either. With Russell and Reaves back in the lineup, the offense has looked a lot better, but Anthony Davis thinks defense and rebounding will be key for the new starters.
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