The Los Angeles Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday night, closing out their six game road trip against the Washington Wizards. They were able to pick up a win against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.
Unlike the first back-to-back, L.A. was able to handle their business early against Toronto as D’Angelo Russell was the only player to play over 30 minutes.
Now, the Lakers look to close out this trip with a 5-1 record against the Wizards on Wednesday. Washington is also on the second night of a back-to-back, taking on the Milwaukee Bucks at home and being able to pick up an improbable win.
This is a similar opportunity as Tuesday for the Lakers to blow out the Wizards early and be able to get some rest. However, this rebuilding Washington team is expected to be a confident bunch after beating the Bucks without former Laker Kyle Kuzma, Tyus Jones and Richaun Holmes.
Now, Kuzma is set to return against to play his former team, but Jones and Holmes remain out in addition to their rookie Bilal Coulibaly, Landry Shamet, Isaiah Livers and Marvin Bagley III.
For the Lakers, Gabe Vincent is back after being given a rest day in Toronto and Cam Reddish is back as well after missing the last game due to personal reasons. Anthony Davis and LeBron James were listed as questionable, but with a lesser workload against the Raptors, it allows for them to both suit up in the second of the back-to-back.
The first meeting between these two teams did not go as envisioned for L.A. as it was a hotly contested overtime game on Feb. 29. Luckily, the Lakers won 134-131 and escaped a disappointing loss, but that cannot happen this time around as every game matters at this point in the year.
Both Kuzma and Jordan Poole hurt the Lakers in the first meeting. Poole dropped an efficient 34 points on 13-for-26 from the field with the 6’9″ forward putting up 20 points and 10 rebounds. Vincent should find himself getting the assignment on the scoring guard to force him into tough shots, while Rui Hachimura should be on Kuzma in his return to Washington.
With only five games remaining after this one, the purple and gold need to beat every team that is below .500 to give themselves a chance to climb to the seventh or eighth seed. Washington is currently 15-61 and setting the tone early and not giving the Wizards any hope of winning is key to finishing this trip strong.
Washington Wizards (15-61) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (43-33)
4:00 p.m. PT, Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: LeBron James
PF: Rui Hachimura
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Gabe Vincent, Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes
Projected Wizards Starting Lineup:
PG: Jordan Poole
SG: Corey Kispert
SF: Deni Avdija
PF: Kyle Kuzma
C: Tristan Vukcevic
Key Reserves: Anthony Gill, Johnny Davis, Jared Butler, Eugene Omoruyi
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