The Lakers are back at STAPLES Center on the second night of a back-to-back to face off with the Rockets
The Los Angeles Lakers were absolutely embarrassed on the road on Saturday night as the 27-point loss that they ultimately incurred was a far kinder result than what actually took place on the hardwood. There’s no time for the Lakers to lick their wounds, though, as they are back at STAPLES Center on Sunday night for a matchup with the Houston Rockets.
Both teams limp into this game as both Kobe Bryant and Larry Nance Jr. left the Lakers’ game on Saturday early due to injuries and there are five players listed on the injury report for the Rockets coming into this contest. However, all of the injuries offers an interesting proposition for Byron Scott and the Lakers.
With Nance likely going to be sitting out, Kobe hopefully sitting out, and even Brandon Bass likely being out again with the foot injury that has sidelined him recently, the young players on the Lakers should have major opportunities to shine on Sunday night.
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Julius Randle is going to be the biggest beneficiary for the Lakers because of these injuries. With Nance out, Randle will likely slot into the starting lineup in a potentially favorable matchup against the Rockets’ notoriously lackluster power forwards on the defensive end. Moreover, Anthony Brown should be able to slot in for Kobe if Bryant doesn’t play and be put in an interesting position where we might see how he would fare against James Harden. The same can be said for Tarik Black coming off of the bench again and defending Dwight Howard (if Howard plays).
However, the interesting aspect of this is whether or not Byron Scott will free D’Angelo Russell in this game to attack at the point guard position. With Patrick Beverley and Jason Terry both potentially being out, Houston is largely going to rely on Ty Lawson at point guard. Russell, in theory, could really work a size-advantage over the substantially smaller Lawson and it would be something worth seeing in terms of how the rookie would attack and fare in that matchup.
We’ll see what Byron has in store for this team tonight, but there should at least be intrigue from Lakers fans about what the young guys could do if given the opportunity on Sunday night against the Rockets.
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
Date: Sunday, Jan. 17
Start Time: 6:30 p.m. PT
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Arena: STAPLES Center
TV Info: TWC Sportsnet
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Radio: Here
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Rockets -9.5
Moneyline: Rockets -530, Lakers +410
O/U: 205.5
Injury Report
Los Angeles Lakers: Larry Nance Jr. (knee)—Doubtful, Kobe Bryant (shoulder, Achilles)—Questionable, Brandon Bass (foot)—Doubtful
Houston Rockets: Patrick Beverley (ankle)—Questionable, Dwight Howard (oblique)—Questionable, Jason Terry (illness)—Questionable, Donatas Motiejunas (back)—Out, Sam Dekker (back)—Out
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Prediction
The Lakers and Rockets are both severely banged up coming into this matchup and the Lakers certainly aren’t helped by the fact that they got trounced on the first night of this back-to-back. It’ll be interesting to see how the young Lakers could potentially fare if given opportunities in intriguing matchups on Sunday night, but I still think that the presence of Harden has to give Houston the ultimate edge in this game.
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