Tuesday night the Los Angeles Lakers looked to build on their strong preseason start against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers
Coming fresh off of a win against the Denver Nuggets, Tuesday night represented the first game of the season that could actually be considered a true test to the Lakers’ young core. It even felt more like a real game than the previous three.
Armed with the deadly backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, though fans maintain that Los Angeles should try and emulate what the Warriors have cooking up in Golden State, Portland is another young team who should interest the coaching staff.
Just last season, expectations for the Blazers were about as low as they could get. Losing LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum many thought that the team would try and tank for a coveted lottery pick.
However, defying all odds, the young core led the team to 44 wins, good enough for fifth place in the Western Conference.
The Lakers are in a similar situation this season, so it was interesting to see how they would fare against the Blazers. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Tuesday night’s 106-109 overtime loss.