The Los Angeles Lakers will be without Dwight Howard, but going for their fifth straight win when they take on the Brooklyn Nets as their home stand continues.
The Lakers are coming off their best stretch of the 2019-20 NBA season, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers in back-to-back games. They’ll hope to keep some of that energy going as they chase the Bucks for the NBA’s best record.
The Lakers currently sit 2.5 games back of the Bucks and with Giannis Antetokounmpo out for a short period of time with a knee injury, now is the time for them to make up some ground.
LeBron James was considered questionable, but said that he’ll be playing against the Nets. Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso are both listed as probable for this matchup. Dion Waiters is not yet scheduled to make his Lakers debut as he continues to work on his conditioning.
The Lakers took the first meeting between these two teams in Brooklyn 128-113 in a game where Kyrie Irving played. Irving has since been ruled out for the season and the Nets have gone 8-7 in his absence. Luckily for them, they’ve been able to hang on to the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed with the help of Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie.
For the rest of the season, the Lakers will have to balance taking care of business on the court while also keeping players healthy in preparation for the 2020 NBA playoffs. It seems as though they have their sights set on the best record in the league, but will have to closely monitor James and Davis in the meantime.
For this game, the Lakers will need a strict focus on their perimeter defense. LeVert and Dinwiddie present a number of issues even with Irving out of the lineup and although the Nets recently fired their head coach, their rotation is rather concise with their best players injured.
The Nets will also be hungry to stay in the No. 7 spot in order to avoid a first round matchup with the Bucks. While playing the Toronto Raptors — who are the likely No. 2 seed — isn’t an easy thing to do, it certainly beats playing Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
The Lakers pushing their win streak to five in a week where the Bucks have lost three in a row is vital and James and Davis will look to make sure that their success continues.
Los Angeles Lakers (49-13) vs. Brooklyn Nets (29-34)
7:30 P.M. PT, Mar. 10, 2020
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM (ESPN), 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: LeBron James
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Danny Green
PF: Anthony Davis
C: JaVale McGee
Key Reserves: Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Dwight Howard, Alex Caruso, Markieff Morris
Projected Nets Starting Lineup:
PG: Spencer Dinwiddie
SG: Caris LeVert
SF: Joe Harris
PF: Wilson Chandler
C: DeAndre Jordan
Key Reserves: Taurean Prince, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Jarrett Allen
