The Lakers will look to keep the 76ers winless in Kobe Bryant’s homecoming
The Los Angeles Lakers will be on the road on Tuesday to take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the battle for supreme incompetence. The Lakers have the only two wins between the two teams out of the 32 combined games played coming into this matchup as the Sixers will be playing trying to avoid the worst start in NBA history by moving to 0-19.
There’s no question that this matchup is essentially the pre-show to the NBA Draft Lottery with both teams looking to grab the top pick in the draft and add either Ben Simmons or Skal Labissiere to their roster. However, there’s a bit more on the line than “bragging” rights as to which team will be in the driver’s seat to win the lottery.
This game will be Kobe Bryant’s final trip to Philadelphia, the city where he got his start in high school basketball while he attended Lower Merion High School. Just two days after he made his announcement regarding his retirement, he’s returning home to the place where the formation of a legend began.
In terms of the actual basketball that will be played, much of the focus is going to be on the rookies for each team in Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell. Both taken in the top-three of the 2015 draft, fans and analysts alike will be gauging the performance of each player and inevitably stacking them against each other.
However, the Lakers have a sincere advantage in this game in that their biggest weaknesses has a chance of not being exploited in this game. Los Angeles’ perimeter defense has been abysmal all season and it’s cost them in a big way on a number of occasions. However, the Sixers’ bread and butter is attacking with Okafor in the post, something that Roy Hibbert and the Lakers can at least semi-competently defend. Subsequently, Philly could have a hard time scoring consistently in ways they’re comfortable.
Moreover, Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle will look to continue their progression that they’ve shown in recent games. The young trio has been playing well as a unit and showing spirited effort and aggressiveness and, considering that much of this season is based on building for the future, the Lakers will want to see more of that.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 1
Start Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Arena: Wells Fargo Center
TV Info: TWC Sportsnet
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Radio: Here
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Philadelphia 76ers -1.5
Moneyline: Philadelphia 76ers -115, Los Angeles Lakers +105
O/U: 197
Injury Report
Los Angeles Lakers: Lou Williams (personal)—Out
Philadelphia 76ers: Nerlens Noel (knee)—Questionable, Joel Embiid (foot)—Out, Carly Landry (wrist)—Out, Kendall Marshall (knee)—Out, Tony Wroten (knee)—Out
Prediction:
Though this game has the potential to get sloppy and ugly at times, I think the Lakers have more advantages than disadvantages. That may be oversimplifying things, but I think it carries Kobe and Los Angeles ahead.
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