The Lakers (51-18) are on a roll and can continue their streak against the lowly Washington Wizards (21-46).
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L.A. is playing well, as they should be. Their last 8 of 13 games before the postseason are against teams with above .500 records.
During this win streak, the Lakers have held 4 of their 5 opponents under the current mark. Showing that they are playing much sharper defensively.
But now with Andrew Bynum out, Pau Gasol will assume the starting center position while Lamar Odom will slide into the lineup as the power forward.
Bynum is expected to miss at least 6 games due to a left achilles strain he suffered in the third quarter in Friday’s win against Minnesota, 104-96. Thankfully, the injury is less serious than those of the past.
Bryant scored 22 points with 13 assists, and Lamar added 18 points, 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter as the Lakers secured their 5th straight win.
The Lakeshow will be fine though, as they’ve played through stretches without Andrew last season and the season prior. Both seasons reaching the Finals, and winning last year’s matchup against the Magic.
It also doesn’t hurt to begin the stretch against a rebuilding Wizards team.
Washington doesn’t have much to matchup against the Lakers, as their roster is much different than the last meeting. Trading Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks; and Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers.
Washington is tied for the third-longest skid in franchise history. The Wizards are three shy of a 13-game slide set Dec. 17, 1966-Jan. 8, 1967, when the club was in Baltimore and matched March 13-April 13, 1995.**
The Lakers turned in their second-best shooting performance of the season in a 115-103 win at Washington on Jan. 26, connecting at 58.7 percent. Bryant and Pau Gasol each scored 26 as Los Angeles cruised after building a 16-point halftime lead.**
But the shorthanded Wizards roster does bring a size challenge, as their backcourt has Mike Miller at 6′8 for shooting guard and Shaun Livingston at 6′7 for the point. But the roster is without Josh Howard who suffered a torn ACL last month. So scoring is will be difficult for Washington. The Lakers will still have their strength and rebounding to overtake this team. And with L.A. is playing well in the current streak, the starters may get an early rest for the road trip ahead.
PROJECTED STARTERS:
LAKERS:
(C) P. Gasol
(PF) L. Odom
(SF) R. Artest
(SG) K. Bryant
(PG) D. Fisher
Injuries:
A. Bynum (left Achilles) is out.
D. Fisher (hip) is day-to-day.
L. Odom (left shoulder) is day-to-day.
WIZARDS:
(C) J. McGee
(PF) A. Blatche
(SF) A. Thorton
(SG) M. Miller
(PG) S. Livingston
Injuries:
J. Howard (ACL) is out.
E. Boykins (viral illness) is questionable.
**= Information is provided by ESPN©.
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