The Los Angeles Lakers have another great opportunity in front of them to get a win on Sunday night and create a little bit more cushion between themselves and the teams in the Western Conference trying to pass them in the standings. After getting their first victory on Friday without Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Lakers face a completely new Orlando Magic squad after their team got a trade deadline makeover.
All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, as well as starters Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier, were all traded on Thursday. That left Steve Clifford with the task of coaching up players in completely different roles than the ones they had earlier in the season.
Even if Terrence Ross plays, it looks like the Magic are trying to get high-usage reps for Chuma Okeke and Dwayne Bacon. Khem Birch, who has been mostly a back-up, also got a major opportunity to flash his offensive skills in the first game post-deadline, a 112-105 loss to Portland.
The Lakers gameplan shouldn’t be any different than it was against Cleveland: lead with your elite defense and figure out the points against an undermanned squad.
Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:
- Date: March 26
- Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: NBA League Pass, Fox Sports Florida, Spectrum SportsNet LA
- Spread via BetMGM: Lakers -6.5
Injury Report
LeBron James (high ankle sprain) and Anthony Davis (calf) are out for the Lakers. Jared Dudley (knee) is also out for L.A. Orlando’s Terrence Ross is questionable to play with a sore knee, while several key Magic players, like Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, are out for the season.
Orlando Magic (15-30)
- Chuma Okeke
- James Ennis
- Khem Birch
- Dwayne Bacon
- Chasson Randle
Los Angeles Lakers (29-17)
- Kyle Kuzma
- Markieff Morris
- Marc Gasol
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Dennis Schröder
This post originally appeared on LeBron Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
