Gasol-Less Lakers Desperate Against Wizards

The Los Angeles Lakers were humiliated on national television Thursday night and now must rebound on Friday night against an injury-hit Washington Wizards team

On Friday night, a struggling Lakers team that has lost five of its last six games laces up against the worst team in the NBA. The Washington Wizards only have three wins on the season after starting 0-12.

Depressing as this may be to admit, the Lakers are capable of losing Friday night. 

Earlier in the week, the Lakers lost to a Cleveland Cavaliers team that only had four wins on the season. Further, the Wizards have won two of their last five games, including a shock victory against the Miami Heat on Dec. 4, so the Lakers losing would not exactly send shockwaves around the association.

With Lebron James putting up a triple-double against Washington, the short-handed Wizards bonded together to overcome the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player. Take notes, Kobe.

The Lakers are five games below .500 and are currently 0-2 on their four-game road trip. With two games left, the Lakers are desperate to split the road trip and return to Los Angeles. The Lakers, however, are just about playing the worst basketball in the league at the moment. News that Pau Gasol will sit out Friday’s game only serves to give a struggling Lakers team another excuse if it was to lose on Friday night.

Even with Kobe Bryant averaging a league-best 29.3 points per game, the Lakers are having trouble scoring consistently and even more trouble stopping the opposition from scoring consistently. Currently, Washington is without their star point guard, John Wall, so the Lakers dodged a bullet on this one (pun intended).

On Friday, Wall is expected to have his knee re-examined in order to set a time table on his return. In the meantime, the Lakers face rookie guard Bradley Beal. Even the Lakers have a stronger point guard than the Wizards at the moment.

With A.J. Price also out with a fractured hand, the Lakers must be careful not to walk into the District expecting business to take care of itself. To this point, it hasn’t, and the Lakers have lost to teams that had no business beating them.

The scouting report is out on the Lakers. Active defense leads to turnovers, and the Lakers are too slow to catch anyone in transition. If the Lakers take care of the basketball, they should win. Also, some defense and effort would be nice. Ultimately, just get a win, please.

Notes: Kobe Bryant has been receiveing treatment for back spasms

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