The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to hold on to their spot as number one in the West. Their first big challenge in that regard is to fend off their city rivals, LA Clippers.
The Clips lead the Lakers 2-1 in head-to-head matches this season. Lakers won the last fixture right before the season closed, while the Clippers won on opening night in October 2019 and on Christmas Day.
The teams occupy the first and second seeds in the Western Conference right now. The Lakers have a record of 49-14, meanwhile, the Clippers have a record of 44-20.
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The Lakers will need to suffer a major collapse in the bubble to surrender the number one seed. However, the Clippers aren’t necessarily prepared to the extent they’d like for this opening game.
The Lakers will miss the services of Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo. Bradley opted out of returning for the restart, while Rondo broke his thumb in training inside the bubble.
The Clippers will miss their bench mob leaders in Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell. Both men had left the bubble for personal reasons.
Williams has returned but is undergoing a 10-day quarantine for visiting a restaurant during his time away from the bubble. There is no timetable on Harrell’s return.
Anthony Davis had injured his eye in the Lakers’ scrimmage against Orlando Magic. He sat out almost the entire game after being hurt in the first quarter and has missed subsequent practices and scrimmage games.
He was doubtful to return for this fixture, but the Lakers are confident that AD will be on the court to open the restart.
Anthony Davis said the plan is for him to play tomorrow against the Clippers in the first seeding game. “The eye is getting better,” he said.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 29, 2020
Los Angeles Lakers vs Clippers: Who Wins?
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The two teams are closely matched. Season history would point towards the Clippers, even though the Lakers hold the most recent victory. Both teams are missing major pieces from those victories in terms of the absence of their stars.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis might just be too dynamic for the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George duo in this game. The Clippers won’t have the offensive spark off the bench that Trez and Lou Wil provide. Something that has been a major bone of contention between the two outfits.
There is no matchup answer for Anthony Davis, and the Lakers should look to exploit that. Their bigs are better than that of the Clips, and that might just be where their focus goes.
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SOURCE- Mike Trudell- Twitter
