After the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas, Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers talked about making fans forget about the loss.
Christmas Day was billed as one of the biggest games of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers.
This offseason, the Lakers and Clippers went head-to-head for the services of Kawhi Leonard, and the Lakers came up empty. As one of the best players in the NBA, Leonard instantly made the Clippers a title contender and made the Western Conference even stronger.
For the Lakers, losing out on Leonard was certainly tough. However, they had a strong backup plan in place and have one of the best records in the NBA over a quarter of the way through the season.
With Leonard and Paul George on the Clippers and LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers, Los Angeles has two of the best duos in the NBA. While there has always been a rivalry between the two Los Angeles teams, this year certainly feels different with both being title contenders.
So far this season, the Clippers hold a 2-0 edge on the Lakers in their head-to-head matchups. Recently, Lakers center Dwight Howard talked about the loss on Christmas Day.
Dwight Howard said tonight: "Of course we all wanted it. I think everybody in LA that’s a Lakers fan wanted to see us win tonight. ... We want to be the team that’s holding up the trophy. When we do that, nobody will remember the game we lost on Christmas."
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) December 26, 2019
While Howard is certainly right that winning a title on will make everyone forget about a loss on Christmas Day, in the here and now, the Lakers have lost to the Clippers twice already this season.
In addition to losing to the Clippers, the Lakers are now on a four-game losing streak as well. While James missing a game did contribute to that, the Lakers are in uncharted waters right now.
The Lakers certainly have much bigger goals this season than just winning on Christmas Day against the Clippers, but it would have been a good way to end their losing streak a set the tone against their rivals.
Next up for the Lakers will be a showdown against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday. With LeBron James questionable with a groin issue, the Lakers could be facing a challenging task on the road.