In a highly anticipated matchup between Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, here’s the three keys to victory.
Thursday night is definitely going to be a night to remember for NBA basketball. The 24-4 Los Angeles Lakers are set to take on the 24-4 Milwaukee Bucks in a battle between the top teams in their respective conferences.
In addition to these two teams being neck and neck with each other in terms of record, they are also right there with each other in terms of statistics. As of right now, the Lakers have the 5th ranked offense, 2nd ranked defense, and 2nd best net rating at +8.9.
The Bucks on the other hands have the 2nd best offense, 2nd best defense, and are 1st in net rating at an incredible +12.3. They have the reigning MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has somehow taken his game to another level and is averaging 31.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks.
On Tuesday night’s close loss against the Pacers, the Lakers were without Anthony Davis, who sat out after tweaking his right ankle against the Hawks on Sunday, and is considered day-to-day heading into this matchup. Kyle Kuzma has also missed the past four games with an ankle injury, and Frank Vogel recently told Tania Ganguli of the LA Times that the team is being patient with Kuzma’s return.
For the Bucks, they recently lost starting point guard Eric Bledsoe to a right fibula evulsion fracture, and he is expected to return in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the Bucks seem to have been getting by just fine with their reigning MVP.
Milwaukee is showing why they’re the favorites to come out of the East right now, and have the coaching, role players and star power to make that a reality. In what will surely be a fun and exciting matchup, let’s dig into the three keys to victory for the Los Angeles Lakers.