Los Angeles @ Los Angeles preview
Crypto.com Arena
Last Meeting ( Feb 3, 2022 ) L.A. Lakers 110, L.A. Clippers 111
Two first-half disappointments currently tied in the loss column begin a quest to escape the NBA's play-in tournament when the Los Angeles Clippers and rival Lakers return from the All-Star break with a head-to-head duel Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Despite enjoying more than a week off, both teams remain without key players as the Clippers seek to improve from the No. 8 position in the Western Conference playoff race and the Lakers from the spot below.
The teams took different approaches to the trade deadline earlier this month, and it's appeared to work out for the Clippers.
They imported Norman Powell, Robert Covington, Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye in two trades, and have responded with three wins in their past four games.
Powell (broken left foot) was injured in his third game with the Clippers and Ojeleye has yet to make his team debut, while Covington and Hood have had only minimal impact in their new uniforms, but the reshuffled roster -- still minus injured Kawhi Leonard and Paul George -- has begun to click.
When last seen, the Clippers were piecing together one of their most impressive performances of the season in a 142-111 shellacking of the visiting Houston Rockets. Two players recorded double-doubles and five others scored in double figures in the win.
The biggest eye-catcher of the group was reserve Luke Kennard, who rode the momentum of 11-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc in his past two games into an impressive performance in the 3-Point Shootout at the All-Star Game last weekend.
Kennard noted after a 25-point outing against the Rockets that he's been told to shoot more, and that's music to his ears.
"There were some shots that I turned down," he said of a four-game stretch earlier this month in which he averaged just 5.4 shots and 5.8 points. Against Houston, he was 8 of 11 from long range. "I shot some tougher shots ... and that's what the coaches wanted me to do. Any kind of space, they want me to get it off.
"We have some really good screeners on the team that allow me to get open. We're trying to work on things and different actions that create just a little bit of space, and when I have that space, I just have to take advantage of it."
In his second season with the Clippers, Kennard gave a glimpse of what was to come when he burned the Lakers for 19 points in a 119-115 win in December. He contributed 10 points to a 111-110 victory earlier this month that's allowed the Clippers to take a 2-0 lead in the season series.
Much to the chagrin of LeBron James, the Lakers made no moves at the trade deadline amid a three-game losing streak that ended with a 106-101 home triumph over the Utah Jazz last Wednesday in the club's finale before the break.
Anthony Davis was lost to a sprained right foot in the Utah game, but Russell Westbrook helped take up the slack with a 17-point, seven-rebound, six-assist performance.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel noted after the win it's that kind of production from Westbrook that could help save his club's season.
"He wants this thing to work at the highest level," Vogel insisted. "He believes like we all do that we have a chance to do something special, and the way he played the last two games, in particular, was really good for us and strengthens our belief."
Westbrook's previous outing was a 19-point, seven-rebound, five-assist effort in a 117-115 road loss to the Golden State Warriors.
--Field Level Media