The Los Angeles Lakers come into Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Wizards with an NBA-high eight-game losing streak. The Lakers haven’t won a game since January 9 when they beat the Orlando Magic.
With Kobe Bryant out for the season, this Lakers team isn’t going anywhere. Byron Scott is already experimenting different lineups and rotations, as he is giving his younger players more time on the court, especially Jordan Clarkson.
Last game, Nick Young was in the doghouse after a zero-point performance on 0 for 2 shooting in eight minutes. Coach Scott said that he didn’t like Young’s effort.
“[Nick Young] didn’t want to be here. I just felt with his body language, he didn’t want to play tonight. I chose not to play him,” Scott said after Sunday night’s game.
When asked if this is a long-term decision, Scott said, “Just tonight, just tonight.” That means Young should see regular minutes moving forward. However, the 29-year-old out of USC will not play in this game due to an ankle sprain he suffered during Monday’s practice.
Carlos Boozer led the team in scoring last game against the Houston Rockets with his 18 points to go with 11 rebounds. However, it was Jeremy Lin who sparked the Lakers’ late surge that came up short. Lin was the one who was in the doghouse during Friday night’s game, as he received his first DNP-CD since February 2012. But on Sunday night, he was given 28 minutes of play time.
The Washington Wizards, meanwhile, are currently second in the East with a narrow lead over the third seeded Toronto Raptors. They are coming off a huge overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets, 117-115, on Sunday, a game where Kris Humphries led the way with 21 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Their star point guard John Wall chipped in 19 points and 16 assists.
“This is one of those ones that we’re happy to get,” Wall said after the win. “Especially on this road trip, we didn’t want to go down 0-2.”
Wall has had some monster performances against the Lakers, averaging 25.0 points, 13.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals over the last four games against L.A. In fact, in their first meeting this season, Wall torched the Lakers with 17 points, 16 assists, and four rebounds to guide his team to victory.
As a result, the Lakers have lost their last four games against the Wizards.
The Wizards will come in with a 12-9 away record, while the Lakers, losers of four straight at the STAPLES Center, come in with a 6-16 home record.
The game tips off at 10:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.