On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers put up a fight against the LA Clippers but ultimately fell short. On Wednesday, that same team will play on short rest and in the thin air of Denver. Blaming losses on scheduling may sound petty, but Wednesay night's game against the Denver Nuggets is about as close to a scheduled loss as the NBA offers.
Loading up for the ✈ to Denver pic.twitter.com/Im8v94QGZ0 — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 8, 2015
The Lakers did not arrive in Denver until the early hours of Wednesday morning, and the airport is nearly an hour away from the arena and the team's hotel of choice. Add in the high altitude and thin air of Denver to the late arrival and playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and a Laker victory on Wednesday night would probably even surprise the NBA schedule makers.
Entering Wednesday's game, the Lakers have lost 57 of 77 games this season. Counting from the bottom of the standings, the Lakers are in fourth place, and LA has almost no chance of falling to fifth. In terms of catching Philadelphia for the third-worst record in the NBA, the Lakers would need the Sixers to win at least two of their final four games to even give the Lakers a chance at a tie.
The Denver Nuggets are in their own lottery chase, as the mile-high ball club nestles in between Detroit and Sacramento with the seventh worst record in the NBA. However, 17 of the Nuggets' 28 wins have come at home, and NBA schedule makers can probably take credit for a handful of those victories.
Ty Lawson, who missed Denver's loss to the Clippers on Saturday due to forearm injury, expects to be back against the Lakers. Lawson is one of the speedier point guards in the NBA, and Lakers rookie Jordan Clarkson will again be burdened with matching up against one of the better point guards in the NBA.
Clarkson went head-to-head against Chris Paul in successive games, and the rookie valued the experience of struggling against an elite point guard, studying film, devising a new strategy and showing results against the same team again.
"It's awesome," Clarkson described the process of improving after Tuesday's loss to the Clippers. "Just coming back and make chances (to) see if they work."
Clarkson added, "Next time, it's got to be an in-game change. I'm learning every day."
Chris Paul on @JClark5on : "He can really play. I've known him since Missouri...and I think he's going to continue to get better." — Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) April 8, 2015
On Wednesday, Clarkson will get the opportunity to learn against Lawson and the Nuggets. The Lakers and Nuggets tip-off at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
