The Los Angeles Lakers took an early flight to North Carolina on Monday morning to prepare for a daunting three-game road trip that involves the Lakers playing in three different cities over four nights.
First up, the Lakers meet the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday evening. At 24-33, the Hornets boast a considerably better record than the Lakers (16-42), but the Hornets have only won six games against the Western Conference. Tuesday's game in Charlotte promises to be competitive even if the Lakers enter with only 10 healthy bodies. Nick Young's status is listed as questionable, but considering he has yet to practice or even take part in shootaround, the natural scorer will likely sit out Tuesday's contest.
If Young misses Tuesday's game, he will have missed four games due to a sore left knee. The Lakers are 2-1 without their sixth man following the All-Star break.
After Tuesday's game wraps up, the Lakers will catch a flight to Miami and arrive in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Wednesday night, the Lakers and "El Heat" will meet in a Noche Latina contest that will feature Miami's Latin themed jerseys. Even with Chris Bosh out, Goran Dragic and the Heat do not promise any gifts to the Lakers. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back and shorthanded, the Lakers would be lucky to stay competitive in South Beach.
To cap off the road trip, the Lakers will turn up in Memphis to face the hometown Grizzlies. The Memphis Grizzlies may not create headlines off the court, but on the court, only two teams have better records in the NBA this season: Golden State and Atlanta. The Grizzlies may not draw huge ratings, but Memphis is dominating the regular season and built for the playoffs. Seeing the Grizzlies in the NBA Finals would not be a shock to anyone who has seen this team in action.
Before Miami and Memphis, however, the Lakers will tip off their three-game road trip in Charlotte on Tuesday evening. Since it is an East Coast game, the Lakers and Grizzlies will start the clock at 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
