NBA 2021/22 on Thursday, 03.02.2022
For the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers it means from now on: be brave. Because in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers, their leader LeBron James will be out again. Nevertheless, the guests should not pose too much of a challenge.
The reason for my optimism is based on a simple consideration, which I will go into in more detail in my Lakers Trail Blazers tip. Because on the Rip City side, there are simply more key players out early Thursday morning.
Lakers fans knew this couldn’t go well for long. LeBron James’ strong run in January had to be interrupted sooner or later by his biggest opponent in recent years – time.
The 37-year-old will miss his fourth consecutive game against the Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, the last three games of the Purple Berets went as one is used to from them without their “King”: unsuccessfully.
In fact, Los Angeles lost all of their trips to the 76ers, Hornets and Hawks. Still, there is some good news, as Anthony Davis was convincing as an impromptu backup centre against both the Sixers (31 points) and the Hawks (27 points).
Without LeBron James, the Lakers are once again doomed to possibly win only half of their games. The King won’t be missing for too long this time, but at least he won’t be able to help out against Rip City.
However, I don’t think that’s necessary! Portland has had a strong January, winning seven of its 12 NBA games since the New Year, but the injury issue is even more of a concern than it is for Los Angeles.
Lillard, Nance, Zeller and probably Elleby are out tonight. On top of that, there’s another loss I’d like to cover separately, as I’m depending on this one for my Lakers Trail Blazers tip.
Basketball fans won’t have failed to notice that Portland talent Nassir Little has been having an up-and-coming season until recently. Last month, the just 21-year-old contributed an average of 13.1 points and 7.5 rebounds on a 40% 3-point success rate.
But that was once upon a time, as the No. 25 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft will be out until the end of the season. In fact, the shoulder injury appears to be so bad that Rip City can’t even give an approximate return date.
As a result, the Trail Blazers unsurprisingly lost four of their last five games. Especially in their last appearance, Portland presented a completely unsatisfactory work record to their own fans: An 81-98 loss to the Orlando Magic.
With all due respect to the Orlando Magic, but when the team with the worst record in the NBA (11-40) holds Portland to a scoring output of just 81 points then nothing can come of it the following night against the Lakers, even without The King.
Los Angeles has sold itself well despite the recent defeats and has enough quality to cope with Rip City even beyond the best line-up. Especially because the visitors – as shown – are plagued by much more acute injury worries.
A good indication of what I expect tonight is the last head-to-head clash, which took place on New Year’s Day 2022. Back then, the Lakers left nothing to chance with a 139-106 win.
Although LeBron James was outstanding that night with 43 points. But as we have learned, The King will not be able to play this time. Nevertheless, it hits the guests from Portland much harder.
The Trail Blazers already lost the last direct duel, although three regulars were in the starting five, who will be absent tonight due to injury. Namely the already mentioned Lillard, Nance and Little.
Conclusion: It’s true that another drought is in store for the Lakers’ offense, as LeBron James, who excelled in January, will continue to be hampered by injury. However, it should be enough against Rip City.
The visitors already lost by a huge 33-point difference at the Crypto.com Arena on New Year’s Day. In addition, three starting five players are missing compared to that evening, all of whom are injured at the moment.
No wonder the Trail Blazers have lost four of their last five NBA games and even lost to the Orlando Magic (!) 81-98 in their last appearance!
My Lakers Trail Blazers tip: Win LA!
