The Lakers look to bounce back from their opening night loss to the Golden State Warriors and rack up some wins in their first week of the season.
Looking ahead at the Lakers’ schedule for the next four games, they already have a back-to-back in just their third and fourth games of the season on Sunday and Monday. They’ll travel to Sacramento and come back home to face Portland on the second night. They will also face the Minnesota Timberwolves twice in the next four games, once tonight at Crypto.com Arena and again next Wednesday on the road.
The Wolves are coming off a hard-fought 118-114 victory over the Trail Blazers in their season opener, in which Anthony Edwards put together an impressive 41-point outing. After losing to the Wolves 4-1 in the first round of this past postseason, the Lakers have an opportunity to make a statement in tonight’s anticipated playoff rematch.
10/24 vs Minnesota Timberwolves
What sticks out about Minnesota’s ball club is that they are a very lengthy and physical team. Scoring at the rim against them is no easy feat, something the Lakers did fairly well against Golden State’s lack of size. The Lakers’ defense struggled with Minnesota’s bigs in the postseason, namely Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Rudy Gobert. They’re a very versatile group who can punish you in the paint but can do just as much damage out on the perimeter.
The Lakers are going to have to match Minnesota’s physicality, something they showed flashes of in last year’s playoff matchup. DeAndre Ayton, someone the Lakers didn’t have last year, is going to be a crucial piece for L.A. tonight. His defense on the interior, rebounding, and pick-and-roll schemes with Luka and Austin will be needed in a big way. L.A. is also going to need some more help offensively outside of Doncic and Reaves.
10/26 @ Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings, for the last several years, have been a great offensive team. Despite their loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, Zach LaVine had 30 points on 13-24 shooting, and DeMar DeRozan had 29 on 12-17 shooting. The team overall shot an efficient 50% from the field with contributions from Malik Monk (19 points) and Dennis Schroder (14 points). Tonight, their star big man, Domantas Sabonis, looks to make his debut against the Jazz, adding another layer to their offense that can cause issues for opposing teams.
While they’re not the most defensively savvy team, they’re offensive firepower will give them a good chance to win on any given night. If the Lakers can’t keep turnovers to a minimum, the Kings will be sure to make them pay.
10/27 vs Portland Trailblazers
The Blazers are a tough young team with a lot of upside. While this is a game the Lakers should win, there are no off nights in the NBA. The Utah Jazz, projected to be the worst team in the Western Conference going into the year, led the Clippers by 31 at halftime and beat them by 21. Goes to show the level of talent around the league.
The Lakers last year too often played down to their opponent and lost some very winnable games. Portland is a better defensive team than Sacramento is, and added defensive guard Jrue Holiday over the offseason. Their young stars like Donovan Clingan, Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, and Scoot Henerson are a tough core and possess a ton of athleticism, sure to give defenses trouble. They also rely on veteran Jerami Grant, an offensive threat and a reliable perimeter defender.
We’ll get a better idea of exactly what this Lakers team looks like over the next few weeks. Many of the shortcomings we saw against Golden State are well within their control and can be improved.
We’ll see if the Lakers can turn up their defensive intensity and clean up some of the turnovers in these upcoming matchups.
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