It’s going down at Staples Center between the two Los Angeles teams on opening night on Tuesday. This will count as a Lakers home game, with the court decked out in purple and gold, and the championship banners in the rafters not being covered as they were for Clippers “home” contests. The Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell faces his former team just a few months after being a part of their 3-1 blown lead in the playoffs.
Joining Harrell in Los Angeles, Dennis Schroder and Marc Gasol hope to find success with the defending champs. Schroder was the player that just got beaten out by Harrell for Sixth Man of the Year. And now, they’ll be coming off the same bench.
Gasol struggled with Toronto last year but looks to bounce back now that he has a bit of a lesser role to play.
The Clippers made a few moves as well. We’ll see Nicolas Batum, Luke Kennard and Serge Ibaka all making their Clipper debuts. Ibaka was teammates with Gasol in Toronto for the past year and a half and played with Kawhi Leonard for a year as well. The rapport the two of them have will be great for the team.
The spread for the game has the Lakers favored by 2.5 points, with the over/under set at 222.5.
Clippers Looking for 1-0 Start
With Leonard and Paul George both back, the Clippers hope to put last year’s loss behind them. With Tyronn Lue now the coach, things will probably be a bit different than they were with Doc Rivers. There is a lot of internal strife still, but perhaps some of it is lifted with the departure of the troublemaking Harrell.
The decision made on Monday to extend Luke Kennard was an interesting one. He is yet to play for his new team, and they opted to keep him for four more years.
He had his ups and downs in Detroit, but given the team’s depth chart, the move is a bit odd. Hopefully, it pans out.
Ibaka will be a better defensive option than Harrell was, as we’ll see Tuesday night. He’ll likely start, with Zubac now moving to the backup role.
Lakers Aim to Start Strong Against Rivals
Starting 0-1 after winning a title would not be fun for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers. When you win it all, you’d love to come in and strike fear into your opponents from day one.
This has been a rivalry for the last year or so, but the teams’ head-to-heads have lacked drama.
There will be plenty of it Tuesday night. James, entering his 18th season, hopes to earn his fifth MVP.
Davis is also out to prove that he can continue to dominate. Kyle Kuzma was signed to a three-year extension, so look for him to be playing with a little more confidence.
The additions of Harrell and Schroder will bolster the second unit greatly. They will miss Rajon Rondo, but Schroder’s ability to score might be able to help them forget about him.
Clippers Take a Win
The blown 3-1 lead to Denver probably still haunts these Clippers. So, they’re angry and taking it out on the first team they play this season: The Lakers.
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