The Los Angeles Lakers are still seeking for their first win of the season as they will clash with the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening.
The Hornets are coming fresh off a double overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The Lakers have had five days to rest and regroup. They should be the ones to come out with more energy in this game.
This is a must win for the Lakers because if they lose, they may not be able to win until November 23 when they face the Denver Nuggets at home. After this game with Charlotte, the Lakers schedule gets tougher as they face the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans on the road, then come back home to verse the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. The Lakers will then hit the road again to play the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks. They could possibly be staring at a 0-13 start if they are unable to win this one against the Hornets.
The Hornets are one of the best passing teams. They share the ball well and usually work their offense from the inside with Al Jefferson, who has been a monster of late. The Hornets don’t make too many threes, but they do work the ball inside-out and move it adequately around the perimeter. However, their guards like to attack the rim to put pressure on interior defenses.
The Lakers interior defense has been awful, to say the least. They have been giving up layup after layup. In fact, Los Angeles’ overall defense has been dreadful as they allow 116.8 points per game and 49.3 percent shooting to their opponents. Luckily for L.A., the Hornets are not a high scoring team, but the Lakers don’t want to be the ones to give up a lot of points to a team that isn’t offensively efficient.
On the other side of the ball, it will be interesting to see if Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer can provide an offensive punch that the Lakers have been desperately looking for from the two. Jordan Hill and Ed Davis have been solid, but Boozer and Lin, two guys who were expected to be the second and third options on the team, have been inconsistent.
Kobe Bryant put in 39 points in the team’s last game on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, but he attempted 37 shots. We will see which Kobe comes out in this game – will he be a facilitator or will he be looking for his shot again?
Nonetheless, the Lakers, who have never had a 0-5 start to the season since moving to Los Angeles, until now, will desperately need to win this one. It will not be easy, but this will probably be the best chance for them to collect a W in the next two weeks.