Lakers vs Clippers | The Lakers (0-1) will play the Clippers (0-0) in their home debut at Arena at 7 p.m. on TNT and 710 ESPN Radio. The pregame programme will begin at 6 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet.
Before the game, be aware of the following three things:
DAMAGE REPORT
After being labelled as “probable” with different injuries for the season opener against Golden State on Tuesday, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook all looked well physically, and they should be OK for the Clippers game.
The same three Lakers that missed the season-opening are still out, with Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schröder both suffering from thumb problems, and Troy Brown Jr. still attempting to make a full recovery from a back problem. Brown Jr. could be close to going to court while Schröder and Bryant require three weeks before being reevaluated.
The Clippers anticipate having access to their entire rotation and starting lineup.
WING CONCERNS
Lakers vs Clippers This season, L.A.’s depth is mostly in the backcourt, where a number of guards deserve to see action. But with Juan Toscano-Anderson playing only 14 minutes in the opening game and shooting 0 for 3 from three, and rookie free agent Matt Ryan getting the most playing time, there is less security on the wing behind LeBron and AD (17:49).
While 6’6″ rookie Max Christie, who is more of a large guard, may need to play more as the season progresses to offer L.A. more size overall, Wenyen Gabriel, a more versatile 4/5, only played for eight minutes.
The Clippers are unable to use Nicolas Batum (age 33), Robert Covington (age 31), Norman Powell (age 29), Luke Kennard (age 26), and Terrance Mann (age 26) off the bench because they lack the experience (26).
The Clippers also enjoy playing smaller without sacrificing too much length by making use of their large and deep wings.
THEODORE DAVIS
Of course, Anthony Davis is a “small ball” buster for the Laker team as a whole. He can’t be exploited on the other end because to his defensive flexibility on the perimeter, and he is too large for the sort of small lineup the Clippers deploy (with Marcus Morris or Batum at “centre”) to handle inside.
The Clippers appeared to be headed for a collision with the Lakers in the 2019–20 season before they lost to the Nuggets, and Davis could have made all the difference.
In the first game of the season, AD struggled to make shots outside the paint, shooting 0 for 5. He also had trouble shooting outside the paint, going just 2 for 7. Davis was 8 for 10 at the cylinder, but it was a different story near the rim.
The jump jumper is always helpful, but the Lakers should have their best chance if Davis can go all the way to LAC’s rim, particularly in lineups when big Ivica Zubac is sitting out.
Davis’ scoring average versus the Clippers last year was 28.5 points on 56.4 percent shooting, 13.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steals, which was his fourth-highest mark of the year.
