This is the first meeting between the two teams this season.
Start time and TV schedule
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet
The Lakers will be greeted back at Crypto.com Arena by a Pacers team that’s currently struggling. The Pacers are lottery-bound and there’s really no reason for them to aim for anything but a top pick at this point of the season. It’s understood league-wide that this season was a gap year for them after Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in the Finals.
That said, the Lakers will still have to earn this one. In fairness to them, they’ve been performing well on the second night of back-to-backs as of late, winning three of their last four. They should win this one simply because they’re the better team. It’s also the perfect opportunity to quickly bounce back after losing a close game in Denver.
Without Haliburton, Indiana ranks dead last in the league in offense. They average just 111.4 points per game and don’t rebound the ball very well. Outside of Pascal Siakam, they don’t have much of a consistent threat on offense. Their defense doesn’t make up for their offense either because they don’t have the pieces to protect the rim, especially with Ivica Zubac out. More notably, Indiana doesn’t have an answer for Los Angeles’ main guys.
That’s why it would be nice to see the Lakers put together a nice bounceback game, one that will begin this crucial five-game home stand on a strong note. Hopefully, they shoot better than they did on Thursday night, especially if this one goes down to the wire.
The Lakers should be able to feast in the paint even more and defend without fouling so much. It’s the defense’s responsibility to make sure that Siakam, Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard don’t play extraordinary well.
One of the perks of the NBA regular season is that there’s always an opportunity to bounce back, especially after losing such a winnable game. Let’s see if the purple and gold can do just on Friday against the Pacers.