The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Los Angeles Clippers in their second game of the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League and perhaps one of the craziest nights in recent memory.
In what was the first night in Las Vegas, the Lakers fell very short to Coby White and the Chicago Bulls, losing 96-76 in a game that never truly felt competitive. The only positive was that LeBron James was in attendance for the entire game, also sharing a few moments with Anthony Davis directly following.
It was after the game that the NBA got flipped upside down. First, an earthquake centered in California reached all the way to Las Vegas, forcing the cancellation of the rest of the night’s action, including the final seven minutes of the showdown between Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett.
Then, after it felt like things had calmed down, Kawhi Leonard’s camp broke the news that he would be signing with the Clippers. Not only that, he would also be bringing Paul George with him via a blockbuster trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In a stroke of pure luck for the NBA, a normally irrelevant Summer League game between the Lakers and Clippers might have some off-court drama to it.
The Lakers Summer League team is the worst it’s been in six years with the No. 46 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Talen Horton-Tucker, out with a stress reaction in his foot. The Clippers have an equally bland roster with Jerome Robinson being their lone interesting piece.
However, the Leonard-George tandem coming to Los Angeles might put some intrigue in it for the fans as Las Vegas supports the Lakers.
As for on the court, the Lakers will once again be lead by Zach Norvell Jr. as well as Devontae Cacok, whose rebounding skills have impressed many.
The Lakers are 0-1 in Las Vegas so far but have a total record of 2-2, going 2-1 at the 2019 California Classic including a 21-point comeback victory against the Sacramento Kings.
This will be the Clippers first game of the summer, as they did not play in in Sacramento. However, with the Clippers being a legitimate championship contender now, their Summer League team is of little use to them — similarly to the Lakers.
It will be interesting to see the energy in the arena after Friday night’s bombshell reports, but the game itself may not have much juice.
